text:
Friday, June 29, 2007
They Work Hard for the Money
Within minutes, I had a half-dozen personalized responses from pubs on the East Coast. Which means they were still in the office at 7:30 p.m.--long after they should have gone home, even with summer hours. (Many publishers close at 1:00 on Fridays; employees make up the time by working an extra 30-60 minutes the other days.)
At LAX after the last BookExpo in LA, I ran into a pub I know at a major NY house (incidentally one of the people who responded after 7:30). We had time to kill before our flights, and agreed to have lunch together at a restaurant in the food court. But first, she said, she had to check her office phone messages.
I waited and waited, but she'd disappeared. I started thinking maybe I'd imagined what she'd said, or that she'd invented an excuse to get rid of me. So I had lunch by myself. An hour later she found me and apologized profusely. She'd had SEVENTY (70!) PHONE MESSAGES--and she'd only been out of the office one weekday.
Now do you wonder why your publicist may not like to chat on the phone?
Makes You Wonder
- Is the closet for complaining customers? I'm sure there are plenty; affluent people tend to be more demanding, as I learned during a youthful stint at the Pottery Barn (aka "Poverty Barn") near Bloomingdale's. The closet has a very solid wooden door; no one would hear the cries of a Lexus driver being given a time out.
- Is the closet for servicing customers? No one would hear the Lexus driver's cries of passion either.
What's In a Name?
The wife's name is Kit Chi Ho.
You can't make this stuff up.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Best Business Cards Ever
Here are my two favorite cards so far:
- Copper Canyon Press -- The reverse has a quote from Kenneth Rexroth:
"I've had it with these cheap sons
of bitches who claim they love
poetry but never buy a book."
- Budding writer J. Tynan Burke -- A black box at the bottom of his vertical card has white type stating: "Tall, attractive recent Stanford grad; linen coat, striped shirt; met at BEA." Didn't remember his name, but as soon as I read the description, I said to myself, "Oh yeah, that guy!" (And he is tall and attractive.)
Quote--and Laugh--of the Day
In a serious setback for former Florida governor Jeb Bush, new research finds that the eldest children in families tend to have higher I.Q.'s than their younger siblings.--The Borowitz Report for today
BEA: The End
the friendly skies back to Denver.
I was supposed to meet a workshop alum at the Sounds True booth at 4, then an author I'd been corresponding with at the Chelsea Green booth at 5, where I was also meeting up again with Digby Diehl. The alum had to leave, but kindly left a note for me with a mutual acquaintance. Then, even though we were probably spitting distance away, the author and I missed each other at 5. We were both too tired and punchy to think of whipping out our cell phones. And so it goes.
I told Digby that I'd go with him to a party, then went to Darling Husband's booth to wait. But as soon as I sat down, it was all over for me. My voice was completely shot, my feet, back and neck were killing me, and all I could think about was lying down. NFW I was going to any more parties, I announced to DH, then told Digby the same via cellphone. (He wound up at some fabu publisher party at Buddha Bar. I wasn't even envious.)
Whereupon DH, his colleague Sharon and I trudged many hot, hard and sweaty blocks to our hotel, as of course the taxi line at the Javits was horrific. (Never have I loathed the mall-ified Times Square and its clustering hordes of tourists so intensely.) Following a shower and the briefest lie-down, we went off to dinner with Sharon at Victor's Cafe Cuban restaurant (more mojitos, yay!), after which I was in bed with lights out by 10:05. God, I'm getting old, I thought in the 15 seconds before I lost consiousness.
After 9 hours of sleep, I woke up a helluva lot perkier on Sunday morning than I did on Friday or Saturday. Go figure. Then I zoomed around publishers' booths again till it was time to catch the shuttle bus to LaGuardia--which I did by the skin of my teeth, whilst pulling two wheeled suitcases containing my personal effects plus some 50 lbs of printed matter.
But BEA still wasn't over once I got on the plane, 'cause most of the way back I gabbed with EllynAnne Geisel, author of The Apron Book, who was sitting in the seat in front of me. Eventually, her husband switched seats with me so we could talk across the aisle instead of twisting over the top of EllynAnne's seat.
Next day, when I sifted through the 120+ business cards I'd collected, I realized that I'd never gotten to any booths in the lower level of the Javits. C'est la vie...
In addition to books and business cards, I also brought home a nasty respiratory virus that knocked me out for more than a week. (I'm still tired and slightly gloppy 3 weeks later.) At least I had plenty of time to start reading the many ARCs I snagged.
Monday, June 25, 2007
BEA Serendipity
Yes, one day (maybe today!) I'll finally finish recounting my adventures at BookExpo. This past Saturday's coverage in the Rocky Mountain News adroitly leaves out the show dates, so the uninitiated would never know it was three weeks ago. If the Rocky can still cover the show, so can I.
On BEA Saturday (that would be June 2), I had arranged to have lunch with Kim Reid, a consulting client and subsequent member of the Denver Literary Ladies Luncheon--and author of the marvelous No Place Safe: A Family Memoir (due in October). But then I ran into Charlottesville (Va.) LLLer Jenny Gardiner, whom I hadn't seen since March, and asked her to come to lunch with us. Well, Jenny had a few others in tow, whom she'd met at the Backspace Writers Conference the day before: Carolyn Burns Bass, Kim Stagliano and John Robison (Augusten Burroughs's very big brother, as you'll see in the pic on Kim S's blog).
Proof once again that it's a small world indeed, Kim R had hung out with Jenny at the Backspace conf; I'd met Kim S through Miss Snark's blog and we'd corresponded a few times; Jenny and Kim S had met and bonded online through a writers' loop. Carolyn was a Backspace conf sponsor. John had been at the conf too, plus had signed galleys of his debut book, Look Me In the Eye, in the Crown BEA booth earlier that day.
Once assembled, we trooped into the lower level food court, but the lines were ridiculously long, and though we located a table, there weren't enough chairs to be had. So we scattered to various points to buy provisions (Carolyn and I went back upstairs for sushi), then reconvened in a BLISSFULLY QUIET corner of the ground floor atrium.
After a lovely respite of just munching and talking quietly--and complaining about how %@#$! hot it was in the Javits, especially in our greenhouse-like corner--we trooped back upstairs to get copies of Kim R's and John's books. As soon as we got to the Kensington booth, an impromptu line formed of people eager to get a signed ARC from Kim. Below is an enthusiastic fan with her much more subdued daughter (you have to imagine the mega-preteen sigh and eyerolling); John is adjusting his lanyard in the background.
After that, we went to the Crown booth, where a publicist kindly fetched me an ARC of John's book from a secret stash. As an Aspergian, John may not be great with eye contact (hence his book's title), or have much expression in his face or voice; but let me tell you, he sure knows how to close a sale. While the pub was getting me the ARC, a passerby buttonholed John, and he promptly sat down with her and gave her a spot-on pitch for the book. "Normal" writers should be so articulate and eloquent--and this was without having had any media coaching.
Stay tuned, folks: We're going to be hearing A LOT about Robison's book this fall, and not just because he got a $1 million-plus advance and his kid bro will be promoting it with him. I've read a few pages and it looks like a real winner.
BEA Star Moment
Later in the day, Darling Husband (who was an exhibitor) and I went to the Grand Central booth, where we had our pic snapped with Colbert. He was lively and engaging on stage at the breakfast, but in the booth he was flat and two-dimensional...like cardboard. Exactly like.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
BEA: Saturday Book & Author Breakfast
at the Book & Author Breakfast. It was only 7:45 a.m.
In Chicago for the breakfast moderated by Jon Stewart a few years back, Baratunde's early-bird tactics got us prime seats at a center table up close to the stage. But this time, when I got to the Javits at 7:40, the doors to the great room were still shut tight and Baratunde was hundreds of places back in line. That's the beginning of the line in the photo above; it went up the stairs and snaked through the atrium, where we were standing.
Once inside, we got seats at a table about halfway back in the room, though we had to turn our chairs around after the program started. Besides moderator Stephen Colbert (I Am America and So Can You), there were:
- Ken Burns (The War: An Intimate History, 1941 – 1945)
- Lisa See (Peony in Love)
- Khaled Hosseini (A Thousand Splendid Suns)
Do I have to say how funny Colbert was, or how enthusiastic the audience?
I didn't think so. However, I will note that he brought the house down with this:
A lot of people have asked me this morning about the difference between doing late-night television and doing a book. There is actually one very interesting difference. In late-night television, WE DON'T DO ANYTHING AT 8 A.M. ON A SATURDAY. ARE YOU CRAZY?! My eyeballs are hemhorraging!I will also note that this was the best Book & Author Breakfast--indeed the best author panel--ever. Even at BEA, too often there is at least one dud on a panel (e.g., Editors Buzz Forum). But this time, each and every one was stellar. Hosseini was surprisingly funny, and even broke up Colbert at one point when they went mano a mano. If Hosseini's writing career ever flags, he has a bright future doing stand-up comedy.
Want to know what it takes to be a top-tier bestselling author? Like it or not, it's about performing and connecting with the audience, along with writing well. Watch and learn.
One caveat: If, like me, you're distressed by violent images (I'm still suffering PTSD from my accident), skip Ken Burns's video, which features graphic WW2 footage. That was the only part of the breakfast I could have done without--plus the "food," of course, which I long ago learned isn't worth eating.
During the Q&A, an audience member began her question by plugging her self-published book, which had a ridiculously long title. I and many others were groaning loudly. She asked Colbert whether he ever interviewed self-pubbed authors on his show. Obviously she doesn't watch it regularly, as just a few weeks previously he'd interviewed the author of a self-pubbed book (I forget his name & the title) on how to use prison time for personal growth. As always, Colbert was quick and graceful, answering her: "Well, you're on CSPAN2 right now!" There was a remarkably similar author at the Jon Stewart breakfast. He made hash of her and her "Jewiest-sounding name ever." She camped out later by the press room and we Fourth Estaters avoided her like a leper.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Publishing
Comedian & author Baratunde Thurston, waiting on line for the
BEA Saturday Book & Author Breakfast, bright & early at 7:45 a.m.
I pored over the catalog, dog-earing many of the pages to mark potential participants in next year's Virginia Festival of the Book. Every page had an author headshot as well as a bio. It was good to put a face and history with a book title, except...
When I got to the end of the catalog, I said out loud, "Hey, wait a minute!" I paged through again, only this time I paid special attention to the headshots. Yeah, they were in black-and-white, only there were no black faces to be seen. No Latino names or faces either. There was one East Asian and one South Asian. The latter was dark-skinned, but definitely Indian (an expat), not African. WTF?
I stopped at Publisher H's BEA booth, where I spoke to a male (!), black (!!) publicist--the only one I've ever met, perhaps the only one in all of publishing. I commented on the dearth of African faces in the current catalog. He rolled his eyes and sighed, then did his job and tried to put as good a veneer (I decided against "face") as possible on the list, which does contain some enticing titles. But we both knew that there are some things one can't--and shouldn't have to--spin in 21st century America.
The bigger picture is that the publishing industry is overwhelmingly white. Don't believe me? See the photo above for Exhibit #1. That's Book Promotion 101 workshop alum (and Harvard man!) Baratunde Thurston, my perennial date for the Saturday Book & Author breakfast, holding a spot for me in the endless line (more about that in another post). Every year we joke about how easily I'll be able to find him in the crowd; every year the joke gets less funny.
A few years ago in Chicago, we sat together for the Book & Author Breakfast hosted by Jon Stewart. Baratunde's was the first hand up for the Q&A. Stewart called on him.
"I'm a comedian," Baratunde began, "and there's something that everyone is burning to know: How come you never have black people on 'The Daily Show'?"
"Because they're not funny," Stewart shot back. The room roared with laughter, including Baratunde, who knew he'd been gotten, but good. (He got to speak with Stewart personally later and gave him a copy of his book, Better Than Crying.) Now, of course, the show (finally!) has a black "reporter," the very funny Larry Wilmore as "Senior Black Correspondent."
Saturday, June 23, 2007
8 Things You Never Needed to Know
- Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves.
- The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed.
- At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
But here goes anyway:
- I flew from New York to London by myself when I was 8.
- I put a tack on my 4th-grade teacher's chair. It stuck in her girdle so she didn't feel it, but the class nearly died of suppressed laughter.
- My feet are size 12-1/2, so I mostly wear men's shoes.
- I went to Maya Rudolph's 8th birthday party.
- I didn't meet my three older sisters till I was nearly 40.
- I wrote the first press release for "A Nightmare on Elm Street."
- I loathe licorice, anise and fennel.
- I never pass along chain letters or memes.
One Gig Leads to Another
I asked Eleanor what she's been up to lately and got this response:
Well I do have some great news. I am the new host of a History Channel show called "Lost Worlds." We filmed a show in Turkey last month about this ancient Roman city called Aphrodisias. I wandered the ruins interviewing archeologists. Next week and the week after I will be doing a Hindenburg episode in the Alps and riding around in a giant zeppelin.And how did that come about?
It was a freak accident, really. Early May I got an email from Atlantic Productions London, hired by The History Channel to do "Lost Worlds." They were looking for a host with an American accent, and had used a presenter called Tessa somebody, whose radio show I had been on two years ago during the London book tour surrounding the marriage of Charles and Camilla. Tessa loved my book and my personality and recommended me. They wanted to see some TV work I had done and I FedExed them the Henry VIII show on National Geographic. And I really loved being on camera in Turkey, I was so enthusiastic and they said the viewer can get excited along with me.I watched the Henry VIII show last year, and frankly Eleanor was the best thing in it. No wonder she was tapped for "Lost Worlds."
As soon as Charles & Camilla's engagement was announced, Eleanor got in touch with every journalist who'd recently written about them and/or who'd interviewed her about Sex with Kings, pitching herself as an expert on kings who'd married their mistresses. It worked: she was quoted in newspaper articles across the U.S. and around the world--and her book got a second boost, many months after it was published.
Moral: Be prepared, and ALWAYS put on a good show--you never know where it will lead you. Oh, and make sure there's someone handy to lace up your gown in back; royal dressing requires aid.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Pic of the Day
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Kill Dead Celebrities
There's been a sudden and alarming push in the New York State Legislature to pass a bill that would create a posthumous "right of publicity" for anyone who died since Jan. 1, 1938.
The bills would give heirs the right to control the use of the "name, portrait, voice, signature or picture" of anyone who died within the last 70 years for "advertising purposes or for purposes of trade." The legislation provides for criminal penalties for unauthorized uses and gives heirs a right to sue for damages.
The two versions of the bill that have been introduced do not provide a clear exemption for literary works. Certainly a bill that would open up biographers and historians--and many fiction writers--to a new kind of liability shouldn't be undertaken without careful consideration.
Our sources in Albany tell us that the Assembly bill (A. 8836) could be voted on at any time by the full Assembly and that it would most likely pass. The Senate bill (S. 6005) seems to be on a slower track, although it is still possible that it will pop up before the legislature recesses tomorrow or when it is reconvened by the Governor in July.
We see no choice but to strongly and quickly oppose the legislation. The Authors Guild has already gone on record expressing its opposition. If you as Members want to register your opposition (and it would help the effort immensely we're told), please fax your letters or call the legislators listed below immediately:
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (phone: 518-455-3191; fax: 518-455-2448)
Senator Martin Golden (R-Brooklyn, Sponsor of Senate bill) (phone: 518-455-2730; fax: 518-426-6910)
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (phone: 518-455-3791; fax: 518-455-5459)
Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein (D-Brooklyn,Sponsor of Assembly bill) (phone: 518-455-5462; fax 518-455-5752)
So, for example, the heirs of Frank Lloyd Wright could sue Nancy Horan for her new novel, Loving Frank; ditto the heirs of Winston Churchill et al. who are discussed and pictured in Lynne Olson's TROUBLESOME YOUNG MEN: The Rebels Who Brought Churchill to Power and Helped Save England. Or I could get into legal trouble for what I've written about my father. And forget about publishing a memoir about him, or illustrating it with photos (never mind that some have been in my possession since childhood).
Sure, dead celebrities shouldn't be resurrected to sell products. But there's a huge difference between Fred Astaire dancing in a dustbuster commercial and his dancing across the pages of a work of literature.
(June 21) Further thoughts:
What about Frank Langella portraying Richard Nixon in "Frost/Nixon"? Would he be sued, as well as playwright Peter Morgan? And what about all those Elvis impersonators, and drag queens doing Marlene Dietrich and Judy Garland, and Rich Little doing impressions of long-gone politicos and stars? (Hmm, maybe stopping Little isn't such a bad idea, judging from his performance at the White House Correspondents' dinner.) And what about those pretentious full-page ads in the NYT for the Sotheby's credit card featuring such art stars as Frida Kahlo and Andy Warhol?
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Author Websites
Here's what every site should have:
- Nav bar with tabs labeled along the lines of About Jane Author, Books, Events, Contact Jane Author, Press, Author Q&A, Links.
- On first screen of the homepage, the cover image of author's newest book plus an enticing tagline & blurb, PUBLISHER'S NAME (amazing how many authors leave that out!) & a link to the Books page
- Books page should have: cover image; snappy descriptive graf or 2 (such as in publisher's catalog); publisher's name; ISBN; a blurb or 2; at least a one-graf excerpt and a link to read more (another 5-7 grafs) if there's info about more than 1 book on the page.
- If nonfiction, the excerpt should include a take-away: recipe, helpful advice, profound insight, etc.
- Bio page must have a GOOD headshot, preferably shot by a pro. Simple background that doesn't distract from face; simple jewelry ditto; no funny reflections in eyeglasses. No posing with darling kids or pets--unless author writes about kids or pets; and even then leave out the kids.
- Author Q&A: A self-interview with 10 questions that will 1) attract readers; 2) be a good cheat sheet for interviewers who haven't read the book (i.e., most interviewers).
- Press page should have: excerpts from recent reviews with links to read more (don't run complete reviews without permission); links for downloadable high-res (at least 300 dpi) headshot and book jacket; links to author's print, radio & TV interviews.
- Contact info should include author's publicist. Email addresses must be encrypted or spelled out (janeauthor at janeauthor dot com) so web spiders don't pick them up and send endless spam.
- Keep personal information minimal. We don't need to know the names of partner/spouse (unless famous), kids, or pets. They're only of interest to stalkers.
- On Events page, move "upcoming" gigs to "past" as soon as they've happened. (See below.)
- No cutesy stuff. If it doesn't belong in a resume or news article, it doesn't belong on a website.
- No flash animation; it's distracting and takes too long to download.
- No background music; it annoys the people in surrounding cubicles.
UPDATE FREQUENTLY! I just looked at an author site that said "Coming in January 2007." A certain bestselling author I know has a Big Book coming out this fall, and his website/blog is all about his first book--and hasn't had a post since last September.
P.S. Said author just informed me that he emailed his web designer this morning about working on the site. Am I psychic, or what?
Yet Another Quote for a Lifetime
There is no point in writing unless you have something to say and are determined to say it well.--Alexander Waugh in FATHERS AND SONS: The Autobiography of a Family, quoted in a NYT review by Michiko Kakutani.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Matchmaker, Matchmaker!
Over drinks at a cafe, the two discuss the potential for romance between their two deeply flawed main characters, Jack and Meredith, with hilarious results. Every book video should be this good.
And yes, after having dinner with her at BEA, I can attest that Tish is indeed obsessive about potential food allergies and is constantly dousing her hands with Purell. (Though maybe if I had done the same I wouldn't have come down with that vile virus afterward.)
Watch Tish Cohen Talks with Leah McLaren.
Wannabe Published? Read This! #5
Don't talk the whole time during a pitch. You should be able to do your sum-up in under 2 minutes (and if you can't, you know you have a problem). Then allow the agent time to ask you questions and to get to know you. We are just as interested in seeing if you, as a person, would be a good fit for the agency.
Yes, we know you're nervous but treat the pitch like a job interview. Fake it till you make it with your confidence. You'll come off professional and we won't know the difference. We like professional, confident authors.
The pitch is not the start or the end of your writing career. Don't treat it as so. It's just one facet of this whole business.
Wannabe Published? Read This! #4
My main advice for newbies is to do their homework. Make sure they are targeting specific agents who represent the kind of book they've written. I HATE getting submissions for sci-fi, fantasy, screenplays, or other genres I don't represent. There are plenty of resources --guidebooks like the Jeff Herman book, acknowledgments pages, plus online sites--so this information is not terribly difficult to find.
What makes a writer stand out from the pack is if they've taken the time to investigate the types of books I do and write a personalized letter. I automatically delete email queries addressed to "Agent" or "Dear Sir or Madam" or "Yo." I also delete queries without any salutation at all, and believe me, I get plenty of them. (Truth be told I like those because I don't even have to take the time to read them, I just hit the delete button).
Writers should be able to describe their project in one short paragraph. They should not launch into a detailed description of the plot. The cover letter should be no more than one page and should include aforesaid description, plus some pertinent biographical information. Begging, pleading, apologizing, being cute and gimmicky generally does not work. Ass-kissing doesn't work either (well, sometimes it does, but rarely). The main thing for writers to remember is that they should always present themselves in a professional manner.
Wannabe Published? Read This! #3
Understand that if someone takes email queries, you're better off NOT just cutting and pasting your printed query letter into an email and hitting send. You have to write to a different rhythm.
People read differently on the screen. Actually move their eyes differently, in fact.
Short paragraphs, short sentences, lots of white space.
You can't double space between each line to create white space, so you have to construct your sentences differently AND lay them out differently on the page.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Another Quote for a Lifetime
"No matter how much you can generate a windmill and a hype around a book," Ms. Kamil [Dial Press v-p & editorial director] said, "in the final analysis what matters is if the book connects to the reader on the page."From an article in the NY Times about the video trailer for an upcoming novel by Holly Peterson, Manny and the Socialites: Let's Roll.
Father's Day
My father walked out on me and my mother when I was about three years old. She took me to the park to play and when we came back, he and all his things were gone. When she finally located him a week later, it turned out that he'd had an apartment of his own for some time.
She should've seen it coming: They'd been having difficulties and he'd offered/threatened to leave; he'd left two previous marriages when those daughters were three. But she was young (only 24) and naive. She soon wised up.
I don't remember spending a single Father's Day with Dad, who lived in Europe for some 15 years, or even sending him cards or presents. (I saved those for the stepfather who raised me from age 9.) I think I called him on Father's Day a few times in my late 20s and early 30s, especially after my son was born. He'd long since forgotten my birthday; his sixth wife handled all holidays and gift-giving.
The older I got, the less my father had to do with me. Still, he affected me deeply. When I was two, my mother took me to the doctor because my voice was raspy. She thought I had a bad sore throat; it turned out that I was trying to imitate him speaking. I miss his voice (always described as "gravelly") the most. Every odd now and then--in an elevator, on the street--I hear one almost like it, and my breath catches. I feel like a little kid again. Could Daddy be here? But then, with a sharp stab of disappointment, I remember that he's long gone.
I'll never again hear "Huh-LO Bella!" in Dad's peculiar resonant rumble. But there are echoes of him in an elderly cousin I met a couple of years ago--though with his Liverpool accent he sounds like Ringo doing an impression.
He may not be saying my name anymore, but at least my father's distinctive voice isn't stilled forever. It lives on in movies and radio recordings--such as "Leo and The Blonde" from 1947 (years before my birth), forwarded to me by the generous and multi-talented Rupert Holmes.
|Express Yourself LIVE
Saturday, June 16, 2007
BEA Party Girl: Weinstein Books
Ever the Party Guy to my Party Girl, Digby Diehl was game for more gallivanting. So after bundling our dinner companions into a taxi, he and I trundled just a few short blocks up 9th Ave. to the fabu Maritime Hotel.
As soon as we got into the cavernous dark bar upstairs and positioned ourselves under an a.c. vent, we were accosted by a succession of Comely Young Things of both sexes offering to take our (FREE!) drink orders. Woohoo! We had arriven!
Iced refreshments in hand, we made the rounds inside and out, and onto a deck that leads to a whole 'nother part of the establishment. There we bumped into my dear former PW colleague Mark Rotella, one of the people I had most hoped to see. Back inside we mingled and chatted--bellowed, really, as the sound system kept getting cranked higher and higher--with people such as Paul Slovak of Viking, a Big Editor whose name I can't remember (I'm sure he can't remember mine either, so we're even), a shmancy London agent (ditto), Ron Hogan (natch!) and a really nice YA author whose card I lost.
Digby got it into his head that the Weinstein brothers should be at their own party. We asked around, but they were nowhere to be found and we didn't see anyone of large enough girth to pass for either of them. They were probably at the New Yorker party.
Eventually my frayed vocal cords and aching head were no match for the pounding music, so I hoisted a goodie bag containing all of two ARCs--Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam (short stories about young doctors) and Alex and the Ironic Gentleman by Adrienne Kress (preteen historical fiction)--and shared a cab uptown.
And so to bed.
Digby reminded me that Big Editor was the nattily tailored Steve Rubin, president and publisher of Doubleday. Shmancy agent was Ed Victor--The Mr Big of publishing, per the UK Guardian, which has this priceless quote (my new mantra): 'I've always lived a life where people have said, "Look at him. Who does he think he is?" And who I think I am is someone living life to the brim.'
BEA Party Girl: Chelsea Green
The line for taxis was appalling at the Javits, so we walked to 9th Avenue, thinking our chances would be better there to catch a cab downtown. As did about 100 others, so we trudged another long block and oozed our hot and sweaty selves (did I mention how repulsively hot the Javits Center was?) into the subway.
After some touristy wandering back and forth across lower 8th Ave., we located the party site in a residential building on Gansevoort Street. The lobby was deliciously air conditioned, and some of us were all for staying down there. But we thought there'd probably be COLD DRINKS upstairs, so we trooped into the elevator.
We piled into the party, which was crowded, noisy and very very hot. (Does no place in NYC have properly functioning air conditioning any more?) I was swilling water till Digby led me to the table where a sweet young couple was dispensing wine sorbets. Ah bliss! There's nothing like getting tiddly on a snow cone...
We sought shelter in the much cooler living room, where I talked with Joyce Meskis of the Tattered Cover (my neighbor in Denver) and others. Then we were herded back into the kitchen area for a talk by Naomi Wolf (left).
And can she ever talk! That woman could sell shoes to snakes; I was ready to follow her anywhere. Per the catalog description: her book "exposes how the escalation of Executive Power has eroded the Constitution's core values and systems, limiting our Congress to make laws, and our courts to interpret them – a scenario that our Founding Fathers foresaw and warned against."
We were ready to storm the barricades after that; instead Digby, the Kirkpatricks, Barber, Chelsea Green rights guy Henry Poirot and I went storming into the streets in search of dinner.
After more wandering about, we settled on Pastis Brasserie on 9th Avenue. The Restaurant Gods must have been smiling on us, as walking in and getting a table for six at 7:30 pm on a spring Friday is nearly impossible. (I didn't know that Pastis is a sibling of Balthazar.) A half-hour later, the place was jammed. Someone in the group spotted Laurence Fishburne waiting for a table, but I didn't see him. Our table was right by the door to the toilettes, which have a common sink for femmes et hommes. We noticed a few people doing a lot of scurrying in and out of there, followed by nose wiping and sniffing. I remember similar activity at a SoHo boîte I used to frequent way back when. Le plus ça change...
BEA: Editors Buzz Forum
Moderated by Sara Nelson of Publishers Weekly, in order of appearance the panelists were:
- Daniel Halpern: Ecco/HarperCollins
- Geoffrey Kloske, Riverhead
- Margaret Marbury, Mira Books
- Susanna Porter, Random House Pub'g Group (not Jennifer Hershey, as previously announced)
- Marysue Ricci, Simon & Schuster
- Elisabeth Schmitz, Grove Atlantic
Nelson announced that each panelist was going to talk for no more than 10 minutes about just one book. Well, OK, maybe two books--but really mostly one, and really for only 10 minutes.
First up was Daniel Halpern, who apparently didn't hear the part about "only 10 minutes." He also apparently didn't practice his lengthy speech beforehand. Worse, he mostly read it in a monotone. Worst of all, the book he chose was a new poetry collection by Robert Hass--AND HE NEVER MENTIONED THE TITLE!!! (Time and Materials: Poems 1997-2005)
"Why read poetry?" Halpern asked. "And further, does anyone?"
Why, indeed? Halpern sure didn't give a satisfactory answer--or at least none that I could hear, as he hadn't mastered the use of that newfangled contraption, the microphone. I doubt his presentation gained any new poetry readers either (not me, that's for sure). He certainly lost listeners; people were streaming out by 4:15.
The New York Magazine account of the program notes, "The rest of the editors did in fact remember to sell books." Thank dog! (TM, Miss Snark)
Next was Kloske, who in welcome contrast actually spoke to the audience instead of droning from a text. He told us about the author of his lead title--Shalom Auslander--then talked about the author's background, his earlier collection of short stories and how he came to write this book, a memoir about breaking with his Orthodox Jewish past. By then I was getting impatient to hear the title. Was Kloske going to pull a Halpern and not say it? No, he was just building tension so he could reveal it to maximum effect: "Foreskin's Lament--and it's not going to change," which elicited much laughter. Auslander's terrific trailer for the book elicited even more laughter. (You can see it here with Kloske's talk; crank up the volume.) He's some kind of advertising whiz kid and it shows; every book trailer should be so good. (Ian McEwan's people, take note.)
Then we had Margaret Marbury, who extolled MJ Rose's upcoming The Reincarnationist: A Novel of Suspense. I was wondering if maybe Mira had snuck in a ringer from the publicity department, because Marbury was a) audible, b) passionate, c) succinct; and most of all she d) answered the Three Big Questions:
- So what?
- Who cares?
- What's in it for me?
Susanna Porter was also unschooled in how to speak into a microphone, which is too bad, as her lead title, Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, sounded like my cup of tea. At least I think it did; between her too-soft voice and the noise from the hallway, I caught maybe 1/3 of what she said. This much I do know: The book is historical fiction about the scandalous affair between Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Cheney 100 years ago; inhouse enthusiasm is "incredible" and Ballantine is "pulling out all the stops."
Marysue Ricci didn't need to read from any notes, as she had her shtick down cold for THE YEAR OF LIVING BIBLICALLY: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by AJ Jacobs. He's the only author I can remember who's been featured twice--the first time was for his debut book, The Know-It-All. "I think he's done it again," said Ricci, who SPOKE INTO THE MICROPHONE and opined that this book is more saleable and appealing than The Know-It-All. "As a lapsed/recovering Catholic, I never thought I'd love a book about the Bible," she confessed. She brought the house down with these taglines: "The Bible Belt meets the Borscht Belt. AJ puts the 'ha' back in Hasidism, the 'fun' into fundamentalism. Thou shalt not be able to put it down!"
Elisabeth Schmitz talked about two books, only mostly not into the microphone so I mostly couldn't hear her. "Why should we care about the murder of a Guatemalan bishop?" she asked about Francisco Goldman's The Art of Political Murder. Um...dunno. I also don't know why we should care about Sick Girl, Amy Silverstein's memoir of having an emergency heart transplant at age 24. After maybe five minutes I gave up and went into the hall, where I scooped ARCs into the thoughtfully provided BookTV tote bags and joined up with my escort for the evening's festivities. More about that later.
Double PUH-LEEZE!
Instead, I learned that McNally Robinson Booksellers on Prince Street (former site of a fresh-killed poultry monger that we in the old nabe dubbed "Chickenwald") was hosting a screening of the film for Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach, which I commented on none too favorably here. Admission: $10 (TEN DOLLARS! For a 20-minute bookfommercial!), or $5 with purchase of the book. Upon reading that tidbit, I exclaimed, "Give me a BREAK!" and rolled my eyes so hard they sounded like a windowshade snapping shut.
Of course, no one would pay money to attend a bookstore event that isn't hosted by actual, real live people. So NBCC president John Freeman and novelist Colum McCann, both of whom appeared in the film, plus director Doug Biro and author Kathryn Harrison, were on hand to do what McEwan refuses to do: meet with the book lovers who support--literally!--his work.
My Inner Bitch (OK, maybe my Outer Bitch) marvels at the irony of having Harrison, who wrote a novel and a memoir detailing the sexual affair she had with her father, lead a discussion about a novel that begins with the fumbling of two virgin newlyweds. I wonder if anyone pointed that out during the Q&A?
Now I'll have to find something else to be sad and envious about.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Wannabe Published? Read This! #2
Most of us agents and editors are real schoolmarms when it comes to grammar, spelling, and punctuation. And usually--to be blunt--we know far more about these matters than the average aspiring author. IT IS ESSENTIAL that an author have the query letter, proposal, and sample chapters proofread thoroughly, preferably by a literary professional, before they send them in to us. Even that friend of yours who is the local high school English teacher, sad to say, is usually not good enough to accomplish this task properly. I'm not looking for writers who are going to require me to spend time correcting their manuscripts; that is not my job.
And if I sound pissed off about this, it's because after years of such submissions, I AM!
Wannabe Published? Read This!
Here's the fulsome response:
Authors AND agents should not expect publishers to provide "feedback" about their work upon refusal. There are times when I do my very best to compose a polite, clear refusal stating why we don't think the book will work for us, and then the agent comes back and says "can you give us some feedback on how this might be improved?" or "can you give me more information on why this is not a good match for your list?" Now what do I do? I have probably avoided saying something I don't want to commit to paper, and am now on the spot. And too busy to respond again to something I have crossed off my list.
In all honesty, we only have time to give that kind of feedback for projects we have high hopes for. It's a good month for me when I actually reject all the projects I have before me in a timely fashion. Providing detailed feedback would turn me into a college professor, not an acquisitions editor. I have seen editors give detailed feedback, but only when they want the author to re-submit.
That's all rather negative, eh? On the positive side, authors should be aware of the power of clarity and organization. It's a lot of work for an editor to bring a title forward as a potential acquisition. The more information you provide about yourself and your work the more likely an editor is to pay attention to your proposal: your bio, all of your previous publications and their sales figures, your marketing platform, teaching schedule, number of attendees at your events, the size of your email list- all of that is extremely helpful. And it doesn't have to include the entire book, but should have a detailed Table of Contents or outline of the content and a couple of solid sample chapters. But don't overinflate your comparison titles. Compare your book to one that is genuinely equivalent, not to the latest best-seller. We are smarter than that.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Happy Birthday, Jenny!
Jenny, the Australian shepherd-golden retriever mix who lets Max encroach on her bed (but never her food bowl!) , is 11 years old today. As you can see, she's turned gray for me (now her silvery-purple tongue no longer clashes with her coat), which has saved me oodles of money at the hairdresser. Though as "the high-maintenance mutt," as Darling Husband calls her, we've more than made up for it at the vet.
She's slowed down in recent years--which means that now she tears around at high speed instead of hyperdrive. (Aussies, I quickly learned, are born to zoom.) However, unlike my last dog, a husky-German shepherd-lab mix, Jenny never got the hang of catching squirrels or rabbits. Which is a good thing, as here in Denver she'd be catching bubonic plague along with them.
Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Tim Schaffert , whose newest novel is Devils in the Sugar Shop.
What's Not to Like? Let Me Count the Ways...
"Virtual tour" means that a film of McEwan is being sent around to bookstores instead of the author himself. The brainchild of Powell's Books in Oregon, the film was unveiled at BEA and has been widely discussed in the trade and on blogs such as GalleyCat. Thompson went to the premier screening in Washington, sponsored by Olsson's, at the "funky" Warehouse Theater on 7th St.
The lights go down, the credits roll, and heeeeere's Ian. He's mild-mannered, soft-spoken and as up close and personal as he could be without actually being there....I just viewed the trailer for the film on the WaPo site, which means that I watched:
What else does the film offer that you wouldn't get at an in-person reading?
Well, there are countless moody pictures of Chesil Beach itself, on the Dorset coast. And there are numerous commentators, among them McEwan's Doubleday editor, Nan Talese, who talks about being astounded at McEwan's insight into women's feelings. When she brought this up with him, Talese reports, "He was very sweet and said rather quietly: 'Oh, well, I've known a few women.' "
But for an author event to work without an author, both McEwan and Weich believe, it has to be about more than watching a movie.
"It's really what happens the moment the film is finished that matters the most," McEwan said at a recent publishing conference in New York, where he saw the finished Powell's product for the first time. It's "what readers then say to each other -- the idea of communities of readers responding to this."
- a commercial for Windows Mobile;
- a commercial for a film that's a commercial for a book.
The trailer is icky-sticky treacly, more suited to genre romance than "literary" fiction. From the outset, with McEwan intoning over soulful strings, "They were young, educated and both virgins..." I was rolling my eyes. By the time he read a passage describing Our Hero licking Our Heroine's nipple, I was squirming. No way I could watch the entire film without groaning, howling or laughing uproariously. Probably all three.
News flash: McEwan's a lousy reader, even after (presumably) multiple takes.
"The reader in me doesn't especially want to see this before I read the book," says [Susan] Coll, who seems the most skeptical of the three novelists [who helped lead a discussion after the DC screening]. And "at what point, I wonder, does it feel like an infomercial?"Answer: Immediately.
Here's another news flash, per my previous post:
People don't want to be read to; they want to connect with the author. The audience in Washington was connecting to Susan Coll and the two other authors who spoke with--not at--them, not Ian McEwan.
Thompson concludes:
Bella concludes: PLENTY!
As for McEwan himself, he's a happy camper. After the New York screening, he pronounced the Powell's film "very lightly and carefully done,"....
Besides, compared with what he described, with restrained horror, as "the three-week stab around the United States and the 25 media escorts" -- well, what's not to like about a virtual tour?
Publishers, how about taking the money you'd spend on a fancy-shmancy bookfommercial (TM) and using it to send a real live author--with a real live personality--out on a real live book tour? I'm sure you'd get plenty of takers. I could even suggest a few myself.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
BEA: Care & Feeding of Fans
On Friday, June 1, I attended "Care & Feeding of Fans: Author Remedies & Recipes," moderated by Carol Fitzgerald, empress of Bookreporter.com and its many ancillary sites and services. Panelists, seated from left to right, were:
- Lee Child (tiptoed out early; must've had a date)
- Debbie Macomber (apparently replacing previously announced Jennifer Weiner)
- Kathy Patrick, Beauty & the Book & Pulpwood Queens
- Adriana Trigiani (see my 2001 interview with her here)
I scribbled as fast as I could, but still didn't catch everything--such as what Fitzgerald's first question was, Patrick's disquisition on big hair, and the time Trigiani called into a Florida book club and they left her hanging while they got drunk (and didn't discuss the book). Now that I reread my notes, I see that they're rather telegrammatic. Oh well, here goes...
Lee Child: The hard-core posters on my site forum are big-mouths--word of mouth has grown enormously. They hang out together, go on vacation together, travel all over the world together. They identify with the character Harry Reacher. It's a lot more socially acceptable to love a fictional character than a real person. [laffs] A British accent is the single most valuable thing for me in the U.S. People think I'm intelligent and refined, whereas when I open my mouth in the U.K., they know I'm a scumbag from Birmingham. [guffaws]
Debbie Macomber: I started with a mailing list of 350 people who'd written to me care of my publisher. I sent them a direct [postal] mailing of family Christmas recipes and got 300 letters back. Now my mailing list is 75,000. Every year I send a special pattern to the 25,000 knitters on my list. [No mention of what her postage costs must be!]
Fitzgerald: What's different now?
Adriana Trigiani: Online stuff helps; I answer 300 emails a day. I talk to 4 to 5 book clubs a week--at night, so it doesn't cut into the day. Have to have time to make the product. [laffs] People who read books are pretty smart. I made a DVD talking about books. Sometimes I take book clubs to lunch in New York, sometimes I meet them for lunch in other cities. [Macomber takes book clubs to lunch too; no wonder they both have adoring fans.]
Child: People are used to reading books with the idea of critical discussion. I talk about other books I like. I don't want to favor anyone, it's safer to talk about other people. [laffs]
Kathy Patrick: I kicked off the "Read This Book" campaign on the Diane Sawyer show. I wear clip-on hair for travel. [Tosses head; big laffs.] I run the largest book club in the world--it's in the U.S. and 8 foreign countries. I feature first-time authors. There are so many wonderful authors writing books that aren't seen. I run 3 book festivals: Christian [Books Alive!], Girlfriend Weekend, International Book Club Author Extravaganza. I can read and chew gum at the same time--the Southern Blonde. [guffaws]
Trigiani: The world is moving so fast now, it's insane. Every day you have to learn how to open something new...with pictures. [laffs] What hasn't changed is the commitment to our readers. Thank God I was an office temp! I knew how to put a mailing list together. It's a huge job. Reader loyalty has to do with access to you.
Macomber: When I'm going out on tour, I send postcards to everyone on my list within a 50-mile radius of the bookstore. I have a staff of three...Trigiani: THREE?!?!?! [guffaws]...for my mailing list.
Trigiani: People that read are on a journey.
Fitzgerald: Reading is one of the two most personal experiences.
Trigiani: I can't blog and answer emails. You've gotta pick what's most comfortable to you. Nothing interesting happens to me that belongs to be put on a blog. [laffs] You gotta have help, or there's no time to write. I call book clubs, take them to lunch.
Macomber: It's important to keep in touch with readers. Keep them updated on what's available. I send chatty newsletters from Cedar Cove with recipes.
Trigiani: I tracked down the girl that was kicked off "Project Runway." I got her tulle skirt and had a contest for it. That was huge.
Patrick: It's a better discussion if the book club has read the book. [laffs]
Fitzgerald: How about autographs?
Macomber: I send them a book plate. I'm not in the business of selling books, I'm in the business of writing books. I send readers to booksellers.
Trigiani: I offered a special holiday book plate. I signed 8,000 of them!
Fitzgerald: On your web site, you should have a nav bar item "For Book Clubs" and a form with time, date and place.
Fitzgerald: What's the biggest mistake authors make?
Trigiani: An author who won't speak to any readers, or look up. It's just rude.
Fitzgerald: I tell people to "lock and load": Lock eyes with the person and talk only to them.
Macomber: People come from great distances to come to a signing. Make it an event, develop a relationship with them. I used to pay my kids a quarter to bring someone to the signing table. [laffs]
Patrick: Be nice and charming. It makes all the difference in the world to be accessible. Some authors are terrible speakers and great writers.
Fitzgerald: At the Virginia Festival of the Book, someone in the audience asked an author on a panel what other work they liked. The author said, "I wouldn't recommend anyone coming up." [huge gasps] The room gasped just like you.
Fitzgerald: How do you deal with difficult fans?
Patrick: Answer everyone seriously. Tell them you're in the middle of doing a color [she's a hairdresser] and you have to get off the phone. [laffs]
Fitzgerald: What about hate mail?
Patrick: That was my first phone call after I appeared on "Good Morning America." I told her, "Let's talk," and she hung up.
Fitzgerald: How about events--do you do a reading, a spiel or Q&A?
Macomber: I never read. I talk about myself and tell stories.
All: People don't want to be read to; they want to connect with the author. [I say this in my workshops ALL the time!]
Macomber: The best fan letter I ever got was from a guy in prison: "You can be my woman and I don't even care if you're fat." [mass hysteria]
Trigiani: Don't read Amazon reviews!
Audience member: I was looking for book groups for my book. I researched Newcomers Clubs (they're all over the country), and they all have book groups.
Quote for a Lifetime
"The publishing world is a business," he says. "You should really not make the mistake of thinking that writing and publishing are the same thing. Occasionally they will intersect, but they're completely different."--Sam Lipsyte (HOME LAND), from a 2005 PW interview by Maria Simson
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
What's In a Name?...or, The Devil Went Down in Georgia
Georgia judge overturns 10-year teen-sex sentenceThe poor defendant's lawyer is B.J. Bernstein. You can't make this stuff up.
Atlanta - A Georgia judge ordered the release Monday of a man sentenced to 10 years in prison for consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17, a sentence that had been widely criticized as grossly disproportionate to the crime.
Several influential people, including former President Carter, publicly supported Genarlow Wilson's appeals, and state lawmakers voted to close the loophole that led to his 10-year term....
Update: In the comments, I noted that Wilson must have been caught in the act to have been arrested. According to Wikipedia, the conviction was based on an amateur video tape (EWWW!), and that intercourse with the 15-year-old would have netted him just 5 years, as opposed to the 10 for "aggravated" fellatio. Oh, and he's black. The South rises again.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Quote of the Week
"Now everybody's famous and nobody's interesting."--Tina Brown (channeling Oscar Wilde) in a NY Times interview by Michael Kimmelman, The Former Queen of Buzz Conjures a Golden Heyday
BEA Party Girl: LitBlog Co-op
After some very clever sleuthing, we located The Kettle of Fish and elbowed our way into yet another crowded, noisy bar full of publishing types.
I said to a guy, "You look very familiar; I know I've seen you before. Who are you?" He said his name was Arthur Phillips, which didn't ring a bell. Then I remembered: "Were you on 'Jeopardy'?" Why yes, he was. "I was rooting for you!" I croaked. And I'm rooting for him even more, after reading his piece in yesterday's NY Times: My Dog Days. Oh yeah, and he also wrote Prague, The Egyptologist and Angelica.
I had a great conversation with editor-turned-agent Dan Conaway, aka "Mad Max Perkins" of the late, lamented BookAngst 101; pictured below (in glasses) with Mark Sarvas of The Elegant Variation.
I talked to a whole bunch of other people. Then by 11 (or was it later?), voice and legs shot, I tottered into the subway. My dinner dates were still going strong, but like Scarlett I was saying to myself, "Tomorrow is another day." A day I planned to walk, walk, walk, and talk, talk, talk.
And so to bed.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
BEA Party Girl: GalleyCat
My original plan was to take a nap on Thursday afternoon, as I had a 3-hour break. (I bailed on going to MJ Rose's interview of Booktour.com founder and THE LONG TALE author Chris Anderson.) Instead I had a long, very late lunch with workshop alum Barbara Oakley (see our pic here), whose book, EVIL GENES: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother's Boyfriend, is coming out in October. (Love that title!)
I got back to the hotel just in time to change into an all-black outfit (hey, I'm a native New Yorker) and cushy shoes before heading over to the Algonquin for drinks at 5pm.
Funny how these things metastasize...Originally it was going to be just me and MJ Rose. Then I heard from Kevin Smokler, now "chief evangelizer" for Booktour.com, whom we both know, so I asked him to join us. Then agents Kristin Nelson and Janet Reid wanted to meet for drinks, so I asked them to come along too, as that was the only time we all had free.
When I got to the Algonquin, the joint was hopping with overflow from the Backspace writers' conference. Our group of five was joined by Kim Reid (no relation to Janet), whose memoir NO PLACE SAFE is coming from Kensington in September; Joshua Henkin, whose 2nd novel, MATRIMONY also comes out this fall; and a passel of other writers whose names I can't remember thanks to the noise, dim lighting and powerful mojito I'd imbibed. I'm embarrassed to say that it took me days to get Kevin's joke that we were the Algonquin Square Table; I blame the mojito (my new favorite drink).
Kevin Smokler and Joshua Henkin at the GalleyCat party.
MJ, Kevin, Josh and I shared a cab downtown to the GalleyCat party at Lolita Bar way east on Broome Street. The place was crowded, hot and very loud. I'd forgotten to wear a protective sparkly pin, but happily no one clapped me on my sore right shoulder. I saw lots of people I know and lost my voice within an hour.
(Celebrity sighting: Miss Snark in scary stilettos, with Killer Yapp riding shotgun in a waiting limo.)
Left, Soft Skull publisher Richard Nash & author Leora Skolkin-Smith. Right, Susan Henderson, Tish Cohen & Jason Pinter, The Man in Black.
BEA: Platforms to Pitches
I met Kim and her colleague William Applebaum after I'd been blown away by their "Perfect Pitch" program at BEA in Chicago a few years ago. Now I always have them speak at my LA workshops; in fact I schedule around their availability.
Following are my impressionistic notes--my hand was getting tired after scribbling for 2+ hours at the producers' panels.
Kim proudly quoted a writer who'd dubbed her "the enemy of literature" because she'd had the temerity to say that a book is a product. [It is. Get over it.] She stressed that as an author, you are a PARTNER with your publisher. [I tell authors the same thing.]
The first step toward empowerment is to know about the publishing process and how the industry works. The publisher and author have the same goal: To make money and to sell books. [All this stuff should be a no-brainer, but oftentimes it's big news to writers.]
Ask your editor:
- When is the book coming out?
- When do I get in touch with publicity & marketing people?
- Is there someone assigned to my book?
- Most important: Have you discussed hiring someone for publicity?
You have to look at nonfiction hooks to get your book into the "news" category. While writing--even if it's a novel--every time something happens having to do with the subject, put a news clipping in a folder.
You are part of the product. Kim hates the term "platform" [so do I], but we all need one. Ask yourself:
- Who am I more than a writer?
- What do I have to say?
- Do I have a personality? If not, how do I get one? [laffs]
ALWAYS BE POSITIVE, EVEN IF THEY'RE SCREWING YOU. [Big laffs at this.]
People like to work with people they like, so be nice. [This should be a huge no-brainer too, but alas not.] The publishing business is based on relationships. What else do we have? It's not for the money. [Big rueful laffs.] People in publishing are wonderful. But they're overworked and don't have enough help.
Don't take anything personally. Give the publicity department energy, not problems. Treat them like anyone you want to get along with. If you hate everyone at your publisher, tell someone else, don't tell them. That's what agents are for! [guffaws]
Closing points:
- People buy books when they connect with you. So make connections.
- Ask WHY before planning HOW. The heart of the "why" will get you to what you have to do
- Write up a PRACTICAL publicity wish list. Match it up with your budget.
My First Meme
• Grab the nearest book.
• Open to page 161.
• Find the fifth full sentence.
• Post the sentence.
OK, here goes...
The top book in my tottering bedside pile is TROUBLESOME YOUNG MEN: The Rebels Who Brought Churchill to Power and Helped Save Britain by Lynne Olson (Farrar, Straus & Giroux).
US cover is above; I'm reading the UK edition (Bloomsbury), pictured in my Library Thing list below right (temporarily on the fritz).
Page 161 is in a chapter entitled "Retribution":
Bob Boothby, meanwhile, received a telegram from his association's executive committee expressing great concern over "your non-support of the Government" and ordering him to appear before the association to explain himself.Boothby (in top hat above) was a Tory politician in the 1930s who had "spoken out of school" against party leader Neville Chamberlain and his appeasement of Hitler.
Ordinarily I'm not much for history--I prefer fiction and memoir--but Olson is a client and she handed me a copy she'd signed her very own self. So I started reading the book, and now I can't stop (I'm on page 287).
I'd heard and seen a lot about WW2, and vaguely knew that the war had gone poorly for the Brits at first. Olson shows vividly and dramatically why: because of the deadly dithering of prime minister Chamberlain and his enablers in Parliament, and the Government's ludicrous fear of "antagonizing" Hitler by going on the offensive--even after the Nazis had stormed into Czechoslovakia, Poland, Norway and Denmark, and were decimating the British fleet.
Olson details events that were long ago and far away, and yet they have much resonance here and now. The emergency measures--including suspension of habeus corpus--that Chamberlain instituted have eerie echoes in the Bush administration's "War on Terror" policies. And Chamberlain's pathetic attempts to appease Hitler and Mussolini are reminiscent of the EU trying to talk Iran out of going nuclear, or various powers reasoning (ha!) with Sudanese rulers about Darfur.
BEA: Meet National TV Producers
Directly after the program with radio producers, Suzanne Williams (former publicity head at Pantheon; now a partner in Shreve Williams) moderated "Meet National TV Producers," with:
- Patty Neger, Good Morning America/ABC
- Kristin Matthews, Early Show/CBS
- Jaclyn Levin - Today Show/NBC
Patty Neger: On GMA, we have hard news 7-8am, softer news and books--at least one book a day--at 8:30. I meet with publishers a few times a year and send lists of books to the producers of the first and second hours. Often I don't know why they pass. I get 75-100 books a day, plus the ones from the publishers I discussed. It is OVERWHELMING. Pitch me by email [she gave out her address]. I always want to see video. Don't send original home movies; you won't get them back. I prefer to work with publicists--it's easier to say no. They also know the rules of the game and public relations.
WATCH THE SHOW! THINK VISUALLY! Two talking heads don't do it. The bar is really high: What made it on the air five years ago may not work today. You must be an expert in your field.
I hate long voice mail messages, someone reading a press release over the phone. Proofread your letters. Don't suggest we do the show on the plaza [that's the Today show]. I received an envelope addressed to Matt Lauer. [Gales of laughter from the audience as she hands it to Levin.] Tell me if you're pitching other shows.
We offer packages with our news magazine shows. We can put you on GMA Radio; put recipes, quizzes, etc. on our website; put digital video on ABC News Now and GMA dot com.
Kristin Matthews: The Early Show motto is "News you can use." Our anchors have specific interests, but also do various things. Give us 3 or 4 take-aways that make your book different. Send video footage. Pitch via email. Voice mail is useless--by the time I listen to your message, I've had 4 others come in. PITCH FOR A SPECIFIC SHOW. "Pass" from a producer is a victory--it's 4 letters. Most of the time it's just "No."
I'm a huge fan of fiction, but it's hard to get onto TV. Fiction authors don't translate well to the screen. Is the hook tied to something real? [i.e., in the news] The author must be a very good talker with an interesting angle. If we pass, you can pitch again if the books is REALLY relevant to current news. Breaking news trumps all.
We do 5 books a week, also the Saturday Early Show. Every good book section we do buys goodwill with the executive producer; every author buys an opportunity for another author.
Jaclyn Levin: Today is the #1 morning TV show. It's on air 15 hours a week, Monday-Friday. In September, it will be on 20 hours/week. Authors are very important; they serve as experts. I receive 100-200 books, emails and phone calls EACH DAY. [Gah!!!] Make your pitch concise. Know the show and who you're pitching to. If you want to be a guest expert, send pitch to me and Nancy Snyderman. Send DVDs and tapes. We're drowning in information. [Neger & Matthews heartily concurred.] I also book authors for Dateline and Weekend.
Q: How competitive are you?
Neger: We want to be the first network and morning show. We'll follow other magazine shows, but don't want to.
Matthews: Same. On rare occasions, we'll follow GMA and others if the story keeps growing.
Levin: Same. We'll follow if it's two months later. There are many books out there [i.e., they can get another author on the same topic]. We move very quickly; we have to feed the beast. We'll follow "60 Minutes" andOprah, but not the cable shows.
Q: What do you think of online press kits?
All: Pitch via email with a link to online video.
Q: What's your lead time?
Neger: We're looking at fall and '08 now. A November book must be pitched by August. It depends on the subject.
Levin: I prefer being pitched early, but you can do an embargoed book the day before.
Q: What about your websites?
Neger: ABC.com is in conjunction with what's on air, but the others have their own producers.
Matthews: They're linked but growing.
Levin: Today.com may not get an author on air, but can be online.
Neger: All material you give us must be cleared for use online.
Q: What can turn No to Yes?
All: If something happens in the news and the author is an expert. Or you have an author who became a huge success later and there's lots of buzz.
Q: How do books make the cut?
Matthews: I read all fiction before I pitch it to the producer. There's no exact algorithm for nonfiction. Tape is more important than the book. Sentence structure is less important than whether the author is able to break down the book into 4 digestible points.
Levin: It's important to know what's in the books. I rely on publicists. If you don't know what's in your book, we're not going to know. I don't have an assistant; I get an NBC page to help me every 3 months. We look at every book. The most important details must be in the pitch.
Q: What sort of email subject lines get your attention?
All: Don't be too cutesy. Be factual. Give the name of author and the book title, so it's easy to remember the email and to find it again.


text:
Feature Story | Friends In Need | Get Together | Helping Hand
The cold weather means Minnesota has moved out of construction season and into winter. That doesn't mean cities aren't looking ahead to next year's season change.
Marjorie Otto/Review
The native community and the City of St. Paul are working together on a cultural landscape study of Indian Mounds Regional Park with the goal of creating a shared vision that respects the sacredness of the land. As part of the project, a series of community engagement meetings are being held so community members can learn from each other about the significance of the park.
Native community and city work on cultural landscape study
photos courtesy Samantha Chin
Kaposia Education Center held a pep rally Nov. 27 for students and faculty after being selected as this year's recipient of the Hometown Grant, which gives the school $10,000 to be used to help support healthy nutrition and activity programs.
Center selected for fitness and nutrition grant
Students and staff at Kaposia Education Center in South St. Paul were treated to a special pep rally Nov. 27, complete with some special guests.
"Get together" is a section of the Review Perspectives publication where readers can find out about ongoing clubs and networking groups and how they can join.
Jump back to navigation
Lillie Suburban Newspapers
2515 E. Seventh Ave.
North St. Paul, MN 55109
Phone: (651) 748-7800
Fax: (651) 777-8288
Copyright 2014 | Lillie Suburban Newspapers | All Rights Reserved
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
I don't know what your life is like, but mine seems like there is never enough time to do what I have to do, without even approaching the subject of what I want to do.
And so Friday arrives………….whew! Crossing duties is done at school, my last paid work commitment………..and there stretching in front of me is THE WEEKEND. Yehaaa.
I usually start the weekend with a special time with my daughter and my two grandsons from 3.30ish on. I love that time and look forward to it every week.
When Saturday and Sunday arrive, these days are spent at Gallery259. Until recently I have spent 99.9% of my weekends at the gallery for over 2 years now. Lawns didn't get mown, car and house repairs did not happen, and all those kinds of jobs the weekend allows you to do…….they don't get done. I have ended up with a huge backlog, which I am trying to get cleared.
And that's just addressing the things you have and need to do.
Added to the have and need to do is the old want to do list.
- Visit your parents.
- Fix your car so you can get to your parents.
- Drive around taking photos of trees, the land, the light….the beauty you see in passing.
- plus much much more…….
Long story short, I have been committed to just turning up at Gallery259 every weekend, and loving it. It is a working gallery and so I play with my cameras full of paper, develop in the darkroom, or work on printing…….work on learning, as well as talking to visitors to the gallery, people into photography and friends who swing by. Now that isn't a huge number, considering there's a cafe next door. Most people just walk past craning their necks to see in the door rather than taking the bold step of entry.
The gallery itself doesn't make money, I want it to, and dream of it being so BUT the reality is it's a serious hobby……….a weekend time guzzling hobby, and one that makes some recompense for the artists involved. I have always struggled with making money, but one day I hope to make money from my art. Sure there's huge satisfaction from what I have sold, and that would add up, and they are hanging on real walls.
I have not minded investing my time in the gallery, and the skills needed to frame and present your work. I am doing something with my analogue photography passion………….outside of a computer, and I will continue to invest my time and resources.
Coming into this 3rd year, I need to make some changes. I have tried to make changes with this but I seem to be the only one prepared to give up my freedom and weekends for the gallery.
One of my friends and gallery supporters Bryan has worked some days recently and it was like WOW for me to get out on the road collecting images, and working on things I needed too….it felt really good……….and I could not remember when I had done that last. And I value that support and understanding from Bryan. I also value the support of my partner.
I don't play the arty gallery opening game, the chit chat, the wine and cheese, so I feel a huge disconnect with like minded people that one would think might support what the gallery is all about, and may even invite participation in similar expressions around the area. In my worst moments of self doubt, I could think many things about this lack of connectivity, the lack of collaboration. The art world is full of egos and BS, and I spose in this re edit tirade, the self doubt has got me, rather than the hundreds of affirming comments and the happy sales of images that say, you are onto something, this is different and unique. I have never blown my own trumpet very well.
Gallery259 needs some arty people who could help share this load, who could almost become part of a family, and maybe work at the gallery one day a weekend as I do (or during the week). The load needs to be shared, by others with vision. The gallery is a great place to study or write, or do your own thing in the workspaces or darkroom if that suited you.
If I could have two weekend days a month free it would be awesome and provide some balance in my life, and maybe provide opportunities in yours. Yes it costs, it costs you your time, good things always cost………..but I do believe it comes back to you.
This putting it out there is me trying to make the time cost manageable and healthy for me….that it be shared.
So, I am putting this out there to the universe. Gallery259 has potential, I need some people to help it work, rather than draining the same old workhorse, Gallery259 needs people to have input and spread the load. I am so happy there, but it's not wise to keep on as I have been.
Hopefully there are people out there who just want to do something.
Please talk to me. email : firstname.lastname@example.com
or call me if you are in New Zealand. 027 612 9930


text:
She'Kia Renea breaks down the hot oil treatment process and describes the purposes of each oil!
She'Kia writes:
This is a simple Hot Oil Treatment you can make at home! GOT NATURAL HAIR ? Want Natural Hair to GROW? NEED LONG NATURAL HAIR? JUST WENT NATURAL? GOT SHORT NATURAL HAIR (TWA)? GOT AFRO? CURLY HAIR? This Natural Journey can get confusing sometimes especially if you are a new natural. I am about to break this stuff down.
Here's why I used each particular oil-
1. Coconut Oil
Light and non-greasy, coconut oil can easily be used by all hair types. Coconut oil is one of the few oils that can actually penetrate the hair shaft.
2. Olive Oil
This multipurpose oil is a staple in many naturals' hair care regimens. Not only is olive oil a great pre-poo and hot oil treatment option, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) works wonders to seal moisture in and can add a kick to your conditioning routine too.
3. Castor Oil
A heavier oil great for tighter coils, castor oil can be great for sealing moisture into your hair. Many have also used this oil to help regain thickness around thinning hairlines.
4. Grape Seed Oil
This super light and moisturizing hair oil can benefit all types of curls. A natural heat protectant. This oil works great to strengthen each strand, increase manageability and can also be used to combat dry scalp and dandruff.
5. Tea Tree Oil
It is able to unblock the hair follicles and thus, eliminates dandruff. It moisturizes the hair and scalp.
6. Safflower Oil
Safflower oil protects hair, nourishes hair follicles, moisturizes, and stimulates blood circulation to promote hair growth and thickness. And it is extremely beneficial for natural as well as dry chemically treated hair.


text: ORKESTRATED Adam Bartas Dean Paps Melbourne For Bookings Contact: email@example.com Orkestrated comprise of Melbourne local heavyweights, Adam Bartas and Dean Paps. With over 15 years of dj'ing experience between them, it is little wonder why they command such a cult following across all venues they grace with their presence. Adam owe's his eclectic love for music to early influences showed to him by his father, who also is no stranger to the music industry. Having being exposed to such a vast array of genres, has subsequently fine tuned Adam's ear into hearing the best out of tracks and extracting the junk. With the help and drive from fellow partner in crime Dean Paps, Adam spun his first records in 2002. We have all been treated to the edits, bootlegs and most notably; live acapella's, in which Adam is second to none. Adam hit his straps in 2008 where he successfully polled in the highly acclaimed inthemix awards, finishing #1 in Victoria and Number #7 in Australia. Since then he has played internationally and all across Australia, having supported many of the best including Oliver Huntemann, Phil Kieran, Audiojack and Tocadisco to name a few. Music festivals are also no feat to far for Adam, having played at Kiss My Grass, Future Music Festival and main stage at Summadayze. The clever lyrics behind Orkestrated original, 'Nightcrawler' can also be credited to the creative mind of Bartas. Adam's ability to play to the right tunes at the right time is the reason behind his continued success. On the same side of the decks, we have the evergreen Dean Paps. Dean began his music journey at a young age, clocking up many hours of experience by spinning only the best of vinyls. The spearhead behind much of the production that comes along with Orkestrated, has seen many young up and coming producers mimic his style. "Give me a simplistic track with a solid bassline, and I'm set", is synonymous with the quality that dean puts out in his tracks and sets. Having been part of the electronic music scene for over a decade, Dean has stood the test of time and established himself as one of the most sought after acts in Melbourne. These two pioneers have helped create and shape the current movement of music in Melbourne that is being pushed and sought after by many dj's of different experience and tastes from around the globe. You can catch them doing what the do best every week at clubs such as NightCrawler@Levels, Billboards, LaDiDa, Cloud 9, Room, Orange Whip, Fake Tits @ Tramp, Circus and various other venues for special appearances. JUST ORK IT. ORKESTRATED's tracks Orkestrated & Friends Session 2 - Orkestrated & Short Round by ORKESTRATED published on 2018/08/23 08:01:46 +0000 10 Years Of Orkestrated (6 Hour Live Set 14/01/18) by ORKESTRATED published on 2018/02/20 10:18:54 +0000 Orkestrated - Sanity (Original Mix) OUT NOW! by ORKESTRATED published on 2017/08/04 08:26:13 +0000 2017 Winter Mix (FREE DOWNLOAD) by ORKESTRATED published on 2017/06/18 16:48:00 +0000 Orkestrated, Min&Mal - Venom (Original Mix) OUT NOW by ORKESTRATED published on 2017/06/02 06:55:01 +0000 Orkestrated - Donald Trumpet 2.0 (FREE DOWNLOAD) by ORKESTRATED published on 2017/05/19 08:11:24 +0000 Will Sparks & Orkestrated - Crank It Loud (Original Mix) #1 Electro House charts by ORKESTRATED published on 2017/01/30 06:13:10 +0000 Orkestrated & COMBO! - Crusade (Original Mix) #2 Beatport Electro Chart by ORKESTRATED published on 2017/01/23 04:42:01 +0000 Orkestrated - Surrender (Original Mix) *OUT NOW* by ORKESTRATED published on 2016/11/16 03:34:25 +0000 Orkestrated - Valak (Original Mix)*FREE DOWNLOAD* by ORKESTRATED published on 2016/09/02 08:44:41 +0000


text:
Why Choose Chemical Safety's EMS?
Chemical Safety's Environmental Management Systems (EMS) software offers organizations of all sizes affordable enterprise-level chemical inventory tracking, hazardous waste management, and environmental regulatory reporting. Each Software-as-a-Service subscription option can be deployed at a fraction of the time and cost of most competing EH&S software systems.
Flexible Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Subscription Plans
Save money by subscribing to only the services that you need. EMS is available in four Subscription Plans:
|Starter Edition
|EMS Starter package includes the Chemical Inventory Management and SDS and GHS Labeling modules. Ideal for tracking chemical inventory a small operation. Our cloud-based application allows users to manage chemical inventory in real-time by location, print container labels, and view SDS.
|Basic Edition
|Includes chemical inventory tracking, Safety Data Sheets, GHS labels, barcode labels, management reporting tools, environmental regulatory reporting, and the EMS Chemical Inventory mobile app for iOS or Android.
|Standard Edition
|All EMS Basic Edition features plus cradle-to-grave hazardous waste management, drum label & manifest printing, compliance reporting tools, and the EMS hazardous Waste management mobile app for iOS or Android.
|Advanced Edition
|All EMS Basic and Standard Edition features plus regulatory reporting, workplace safety, facility management, EMS Audit mobile app for iOS, and a great deal more.
You can subscribe with a credit card for a low monthly fee, you can cancel at any time, you can change subscription levels as your needs change, you can add or remove users as needed, and you will have access to the industry's best support for immediate assistance to all of your questions.
Take a look at the EMS Features Comparison Chart to determine what solution best fits your needs, then subscribe by selecting one or more of the EMS subscription plans.


text:
Click on a news article below for more information:
FREE Preventing Fussy Eaters Talk: January 2015 - Wednesday 31st of December 2014
FREE Preventing Fussy Eaters Talk: November 28th, 2014 - Thursday 6th of November 2014
Worry-Free Weaning Book....launched! - Friday 31st of October 2014
Book launch
Seven steps to creating adventurous little eaters - Thursday 23rd of October 2014
We were pleased to be invited to write an article for Yahoo! Have a read of it here... https://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/can-baby-led-weaning-create-non-fussy-eaters-170703647.html


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Aww -- she must be getting excited, you guys! Kate Middleton is supposedly making a playlist for her baby's birth containing a bunch of her favorite tunes to help soothe and calm her during her labor and delivery.
Yep, you guessed it. Kate has an iPod (like a regular person!) and she's making sure to pick out songs she loves -- some of which may surprise you. For whatever reason, it's tough to picture the Duchess of Cambridge jamming to the same music all of us non-royal folk listen to on a daily basis. But believe it or not, she has some pretty great taste, and now it's obvious that she's even cooler than we thought.
Ok, I'll cut to the chase. Kate is apparently a fan of Bruno Mars, Calvin Harris, and Of Monsters and Men. Whoa. I always pegged her for a classical gal, but given how modern and mainstream she and Prince William are, I probably should've guessed she'd be into the popular stuff.
And since Kate is planning on having a natural birth, it makes sense that she's trying to do whatever she can to make her labor and delivery less stressful. I guess maybe it could help to listen to music you love during the process -- but something tells me once she's having full-blown contractions, she's not going to give a crap about what's coming from her iPod.
More from The Stir: Kate Middleton's Due Date Might Be Much Sooner Than We Thought
Personally, I didn't use a playlist when I delivered my son, and I'm almost positive it wouldn't have made a difference if I did. If anything, music probably would've distracted and annoyed me even more. If it didn't take the pain away, I had no use for it, but considering how calm of a person Kate is, I guess there's a chance that hearing her favorite tunes could have the opposite effect and make things go a bit smoother.
If nothing else, maybe it will at least help pass the time should she wind up being in labor for hours on end. Or at least it will drown out all the chatter that will likely be filling every single hallway of that hospital until the royal baby finally arrives.
Are you planning on using a playlist during your labor and delivery?
Image via Splash


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2016 GOP Power Index: Carson drops on security fears
**Want FOX News First in your inbox every day? Sign up here.**
Buzz Cut:
• 2016 GOP Power Index: Carson drops on security fears
• Power Play: What it takes to win New Hampshire
• Hillary gets roasted over sex assault message
• Obama says his critics are helping the enemy
• Ah, Canada…
Ben Carson could only defy political gravity for so long.
As the latest Fox News poll shows, it's been a rough week for Carson. And he can blame both his tormenter-in-chief, Donald Trump, and also the shift in voters' focus to Islamist terrorism.
The single largest shift in the poll is Carson's 5-point slide. The reason is no mystery. Just as Carson was weathering an intense round of character attacks from Trump, who rails against the well-liked Carson as dishonest and unstable, a more intense round of the commander-in-chief test was initiated by the Paris attacks.
Thinking about a mild-mannered physician as president is one thing in the summertime when the headlines are dominated by presidential horserace coverage. But when winter is coming on and voters are made to confront the possibility of a large-scale attack on our shores, the conversation changes.
Trump bumps up 2 points in the poll and two spots in the Power Index for his successful attacks on Carson. It may not much widen his path to the nomination, but Trump's scorched-earth personal attacks achieved their goal here: the diminution of Ben Carson.
The big winners in this poll, as well as last week's Bloomberg survey, are the two rising stars of the GOP field who have been atop the Power Index for several weeks: Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. Both have made foreign policy major parts of their appeals to voters and both take a hard line on ISIS & Co. The senators each gained 3 points to move into a tie for third.
There was some troubling news for another candidate. Carly Fiorina saw her share of the vote unchanged since the GOP debate two weeks ago. If her ability to translate strong debate performances into polling booms has run its course, Fiorina faces a tough climb from here.
1) Ted Cruz; 2) Marco Rubio; 3) Donald Trump [+2]; 4) Carly Fiorina [-1]; 5) Ben Carson [-1]; 6) Jeb Bush
On the radar - Rand Paul, Chris Christie, John Kasich, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum
What would you say? - Give us your take on the 2016 Power Index. We will share the best and brightest with the whole class. Send your thoughts to firstname.lastname@example.com
Trump: Maybe heckler deserved to be 'roughed up' - Alabama Live: "Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Fox News on Sunday morning that a Black Lives Matter protester thrown out of his Birmingham rally perhaps deserved to be 'roughed up' for being 'obnoxious.'"
Threatens independent bid - ABC News: "Republican Donald Trump on Sunday refused to rule out an independent bid for president in 2016, and he dug in on creating a database to track Muslims in the U.S. Asked on ABC's 'This Week' whether he would consider a third-party run if GOP opponents try 'to take you out,' Trump said, 'I will see what happens. I have to be treated fairly. If I'm treated fairly, I'm fine.'"
Rubio's opening ad: ISIS fight a 'civilizational struggle' - AP: "Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio unveils his first national television campaign ad this week, focusing on the terror threat of the Islamic State group. The Florida senator appears by himself in the ad and says there is 'no middle ground' in America's fight against IS because 'these are radical terrorists who want to kill us.' …The Rubio campaign says in a statement on Sunday that the 30-second ad will air nationwide, beginning Tuesday."
"We need a ground force that defeats ISIS, and it should made up primarily of Arab Sunnis. That's the only way you're going to defeat them. They have to be defeated by Arab Sunnis themselves." – Sen. Marco Rubio on "Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace."
Cruz PACs staffing up Palmetto State - Bloomberg: "Keep The Promise PAC, the umbrella organization for a cluster of pro-Cruz super-PACs, is hiring 14 full-time field directors and county organizers in the Palmetto State, the group is expected to announce Monday."
[WaPo goes under the hood on Cruz's strategy with Christian voters.]
With three months until the first-in-the-nation presidential primary New Hampshire is the go-to spot for candidates, especially those looking for a breakout win. State GOP Chairwoman Jennifer Horn tells Chris Stirewalt the latest on which candidates have the best ground game, and what she thinks of the increasingly competitive Senate race between incumbent Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte and her Democratic challenger Gov. Maggie Hassan. WATCH HERE.
Fred Rogers created something likely never to be seen on television again. His faith and training as a Presbyterian minister inspired a show for children. He didn't talk down to them, but treated them as people in "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" who had the same feelings and problems as every person regardless of age. The Atlantic describes how such a simple concept changed so many young lives: "Rogers told kids they mattered, that they were worthy of love, and that emotions were to be embraced, not buried. He spoke to children like grown-ups, and helped them tackle topics such as anger, trust, honesty, courage, and sadness…Later in Rogers's life, he recounted the story of a child who was being abused by his biological parents…Through encountering 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,' the child began to hope that there were kind people in the world and became convinced that he too should be treated with respect. The child called an abuse hotline and was rescued. If the story doesn't seem exceptional enough, consider that the hotline operator who answered the phone adopted the boy."
Got a TIP from the RIGHT or the LEFT? Email firstname.lastname@example.com
Real Clear Politics Averages
Obama Job Approval: Approve – 43.4 percent//Disapprove – 52.0 percent
Directions of Country: Right Direction – 28.3 percent//Wrong Track – 64.3 percent
Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton tweeted Sunday that "Every survivor of sexual assault deserves to be heard, believed, and supported." That's more than a little problematic given the multiple women who have accused her husband of sexual misconduct over the years, women who the former first lady most certainly did not believe. Daily Caller reports: "The link in her tweet [posted in support of a controversial documentary] went to a campaign webpage on sexual assault on campus that starts with a quote from a speech Hillary gave in September: 'I want to send a message to every survivor of sexual assault: Don't let anyone silence your voice. You have the right to be heard. You have the right to be believed, and we're with you.'"
Dropping the Rodham - Now that her campaign has advised the publication she'd prefer to drop the "Rodham," WaPo takes a dive into the history of Hillary's use of her maiden name: "[I]t seems that when Clinton feels that a more traditional naming pattern might be a matter of protocol or politically advantageous -- capable of helping her play down the traits for which she is most often criticized -- she is Hillary Clinton."
Key senator ratchets up pressure in classified doc probe - Politico: "Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley is amping up his investigation into Hillary Clinton's email setup and the special work status of one of her top confidantes…On Wednesday, he issued a letter to former Clinton aide Heather Samuelson, who screened Clinton's emails as secretary of state to initially determine which ones would be turned over to the government and made available publicly, and which ones were deemed private and would later be deleted…"
[A new Pew Research Center study says just 19 percent of people trust the government, among the lowest levels in the last half-century.]
The Hill: "President Obama said Sunday that the Republicans running for president and in Congress continue to respond to terror attacks are doing what the terrorists want them to do….'Prejudice and discrimination helps ISIL and undermines our national security,' Obama said."
Obama approval drops on ISIS policy - Fox News: "A Fox News national poll released Sunday finds Democrats and Republicans united against President Obama's plan to accept Syrian refugees -- as most voters think at least one will be a terrorist who will launch a successful attack here...The current situation has pushed the president's job rating to a low point for the year. Forty percent of voters approve of the job Obama is doing, while 54 percent disapprove. It was 45-50 percent earlier this month."
Top Dem hits Obama on ISIS - CBS News: "The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee has critical words for President Obama's plan to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria 'This has gone on too long now. And it has not gotten better. It's gotten worse,' Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, said on CBS' 'Face the Nation' Sunday'…. 'I don't think the approach is sufficient to the job.'"
WaPo: "In studios across the nation, as many as 20 million Americans practice yoga every day. Few worry that their downward dogs or warrior poses disrespect other cultures. But yoga comes from India, once a British colony. And now, at one Canadian university, a yoga class designed to include disabled students has been canceled after concerns the practice was taken from a culture that 'experienced oppression, cultural genocide and diasporas due to colonialism and western supremacy,' according to the group that once sponsored it. In a telephone interview with The Washington Post, Jennifer Scharf, who taught the class for up to 60 people at the University of Ottawa, said she was unhappy about the decision, but accepted it."
Chris Stirewalt is digital politics editor for Fox News. Want FOX News First in your inbox every day? Sign up here.


text:
Equipboard's gear archive is collaboratively built and maintained by fellow music lovers like yourself. Anyone can submit gear and equipment to artists. Joining Equipboard also allows you to create your own list to track the gear you have and want, and follow artists like Paul McCartney to never miss gear updates.
"The thing about Les Paul guitars is that they're beautiful guitars. That's due to Les's knowledge of the instrument and due to his technical knowledge. So he, together with Gibson, developed this amazing guitar. For me, it's just beautiful to play. It's a classic. One of the ones I have is 50 years old, so it's a great antique as well as being a classic. It plays great, and I think that's due to Les's expertise. When you pick it up you fall in love with it."
Details on the only other 1960 Standard Left Handed 'burst made are found at an auction site here.
The source and notes on this submission are correct.
[Check out my fave website](https://equipboard.com)


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SOUTH GATE — Six teachers with nearly 150 years of combined teaching experience retired recently from South Gate High School.
Physical education teacher Don Guynn had the most years in the profession. He retired after 38 years. During his tenure, Guynn also coached football and basketball.
Art teacher William Mendoza taught 32 1/2 years. Math teacher Doris Fetters taught 26 years, and Madelene Muensterman worked for 22 years. A business education teacher, Muensterman was the school's testing coordinator when she retired.
Social studies teacher Ruth Russell taught for 17 years, while Reserve Officers' Training Corps Sgt. Curtis McKee retired after 14 years.
All of them were honored at a recent retirement party given by their colleagues.


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Earnings Periods: Holiday pay paid in advance or in arrears: 'Regular interval' rule (or "Method A")
Employers can pay holiday pay either in advance or in arrears.
When holiday pay is paid the employer may apply the regular interval rule (orMethod A) so that they treat each weeks pay as paid at the normal timeand calculate NICs separately on each weeks pay using the normal weekly earningsperiod.
However, if the normal payday is in a different tax year, the payment cannot be treated aspaid at the regular interval and the employer must calculate the NICs using the ratescurrent at the time of payment. The employer must not add the payment to any other paymentdue in that tax year.


text:
Global University Rankings explores the novel topic of global university rankings and their effects on higher education in Europe.
The contributions in this volume outline different discourses on global university rankings and explore the related changes concerning European higher education policies, disciplinary traditions and higher education institutions.
The first global university rankings were published less than a decade ago, but these policy instruments have become highly influential in shaping the approaches and institutional realities of higher education.
The rankings have portrayed European academic institutions in a varying light.
There is intense reflexivity over the figures, leading to ideational changes and institutional adaptation that take surprisingly similar forms in different European countries.
The contributions in this book critically assess global university rankings as a policy discourse that would seem to be instrumental to higher education reform throughout Europe.
on all orders
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