Booklovers visiting the Boston area should take the T red line to Harvard Square and visit the Harvard Coop and (for used scholarly books) Raven Used Books.
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Category Archives: For Authors
The Great Cover-Up
I was single and living in a Manhattan brownstone when I bought a paperback book because of its intriguing cover. I was not familiar with the author (who, at that time, had just one successful novel under his belt) and the title of his second novel didn’t grab me. But the 1976 Signet paperback with an embossed girl’s face, totally black except for one drop of bright red blood at the corner of the girl’s mouth, was unlike any I had ever seen. So I bought Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, and read one of the scariest books ever.
How scared was I? During the day, I would immerse myself in the book. Every night, I would place the book outside my apartment and lock the door. The story was perfect gothic horror and the cover conveyed the spirit of the haunting tale.
After Salem’s Lot, I became more aware of book jacket designs. Some designs are iconic. They include the original covers for In Cold Blood ; The Godfather ; Catch-22 ; Brave New World ; Clockwork Orange ; The Great Gatsby ; The Grapes of Wrath and Psycho. Great covers don’t belong solely in the adult fiction realm; iconic covers for nonfiction include The Mind’s Eye ; We Must Love One Another or Die ; What I Talk About When I Talk About Running and Visual Shock. Iconic covers for youth literature include The Cat in the Hat ; Goodnight Moon and Stuart Little.
EBooks also rely on eye-catching covers but that’s a topic for another Blog entry. About eBooks, I’ll simply quote famed book designer Chip Kidd: “Much is to be gained by eBooks: ease, convenience, portability. But something is definitely lost: tradition, a sensual experience, the comfort of thingy-ness — a little bit of humanity.”
“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is good analogous advice about how we view people. Of course, it also applies to books. However, especially in today’s marketplace where we are bombarded with choices, we often select a book by its cover. That makes the cover a critical component of a book’s ability to sell. Unless we are looking for a specific author or title, the book cover reaches our senses before anything else. It’s like any other kind of non-specific shopping: we have some idea of what we need or want, we go to the marketplace and, even before we start reading labels (or book jacket blurbs), we reach for the item that intrigues or pleases our visual sense.
Authors would be wise to pay as much attention to the design of their book cover as they are to their manuscript. And readers should take an extra moment to appreciate the creative cover art of the book they are reading.
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To see examples of iconic book covers, visit iconic book covers.
When Words Fail Us
In a 24/7 news world, we ricochet from one tragic story to the next. Children gunned down. Beautiful days ripped by deadly explosions. Communities ravaged by nature’s deadly force. Reason eludes us. We are reduced to the reality of our mortality and the power of chance over choice. Disasters render us speechless.
In hard times, many seek solace in scripture. Beyond holy texts, great authors also help us navigate the depths of our despair. Geoffrey Chaucer, Zora Neal Hurston, Toni Morrison, Michael Ondaatje and Jennifer Lash are just some of the novelists whose books effectively capture the human experience of grief. Their characters, milieux and story lines may not match our particular experiences but they mirror the ways we grieve, tapping into our human strengths and frailties.
Great non-fiction literature also gives voice to unspeakable pain. One such work is A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis (originally published under the pseudonym N.W. Clerk in 1961, following the death of his wife). Lewis, a noted theologian as well as a celebrated author, candidly reflects on his grief as he moves through its stages. Many consider A Grief Observed the best book about coming to terms with grief. Questions of faith along with the daily challenges he faced living without the love of his life find eloquence at the master’s pen.
Examples include: “Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything.” “No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” and “Getting over it so soon? But the words are ambiguous. To say the patient is getting over it after an operation for appendicitis is one thing; after he’s had his leg off is quite another. After that operation either the wounded stump heals or the man dies. If it heals, the fierce, continuous pain will stop. Presently he’ll get back his strength and be able to stump about on his wooden leg. He has ‘got over it.’ But he will probably have recurrent pains in the stump all his life, and perhaps pretty bad ones; and he will always be a one-legged man. There will be hardly any moment when he forgets it. Bathing, dressing, sitting down and getting up again, even lying in bed, will all be different. His whole way of life will be changed. All sorts of pleasures and activities that he once took for granted will have to be simply written off. Duties too. At present I am learning to get about on crutches. Perhaps I shall presently be given a wooden leg. But I shall never be a biped again.”
Lewis did not intend his book to represent everyone’s experience. In chronicling his own, however, his gift with language, wedded to his philosophic and spiritual views, gives us words to help process and express our own grief.
Recommended
Great fiction exploring death, grief and mourning includes Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale; Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God; Morrison’s Beloved; Ondaatje’s The English Patient; and Lash’s Blood Ties. Nonfiction literature includes Lewis’ A Grief Observed (originally published under the pseudonym N.W. Clerk; republished under Lewis’ name).
Amusing Muses
My daughter, Kenna, suggested I write about writers’ pets. The menagerie in our home includes a calico cat named Katje, a dwarf hotot rabbit named Oliver and a betta fish named Tidus. Past residents included Arrow (English Pointer), Dusty (mini-lop), guinea pigs Mücki and Rosette, and a goldfish named Sunset. All have been amusing, but only one has been a muse for me, resulting in my prose poem, Katje Must Be Fed. My niece, Leisa, also has a variety of pets but it was her first pug that inspired her to write the children’s picture book, Pugsley’s Imagination.
Dogs have been favored by the likes of Steinbeck, Cheever, Doctorow, Vonnegut, Sendak, Wharton, Dorothy Parker, Stephen King, Virginia Wolf and Robert Penn Warren (who saluted Tolkien by naming his dog Frodo). Cats were companions to such literary luminaries as Twain, Dumas, Beckett, Huxley, Kerouac, Collette, Eliot, Plath, Sartre (his cat was Nothing) and Raymond Chandler (whose Persian purred while perched on his manuscripts as Chandler edited). Polar opposites Hemingway and Capote owned both cats and dogs (the progeny of Hemingway’s famous six-toed cats still roam the Hemingway House & Museum in Key West, FL).
As far as I can tell, authors choose cats more often than dogs to share their lives. This may not be a matter of personalities (authors’ or species’) as much as it is a result of lifestyle. An author living in the countryside might like to take thoughtful walks with a canine companion while a city-dwelling author might view dog walking as stealing writing time. Cats tend to be more independent — or less needy — than dogs, depending on how you feel about felines vs. canines.
Then again, look at which authors have chosen dogs and which have chosen cats. Do you see any trends? And what can we imagine about writers with more “exotic” tastes in pets? Those would include some obvious ones such as Beatrix Potter (rabbit) and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (raccoon). But how do you explain Flannery O’Connor (peacocks) or Lord Byron (peacocks, crocodile, crow, heron, fox and bear — oh my!)?
451 Degrees – Part 2
Ray Bradbury’s 1953 dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451, presents a repressive society of the future where books are illegal and firemen burn any house that contains them. Bradbury titled his most famous book after “the temperature at which book paper catches fire, and burns.” The cultural landscape Bradbury created is reminiscent of Nazi Germany and other societies throughout history, from ancient eras to contemporary times, in which censorship of thoughts resulted in mass book destruction.
Lest you think America’s celebrated Constitutionally-protected right to “free speech” has shielded this country from similar attempts at suppression, be aware that in the past dozen years alone, Harry Potter books were burned in several American states, “non-approved” Bibles, books and music were burned in North Carolina, and copies of the Qu’ran were burned in various states.
It doesn’t take burning to threaten books and the treasures they possess. Every year, attempts to ban books abound throughout our country. Thought-provoking expression and concepts are often banished from classrooms, libraries and public discourse simply because someone has taken offense at a word, a phrase or an illustration; isolated fragments are pulled out of context and attacked, often by people who haven’t bothered to read the full text or consider different viewpoints. This is true of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, a perennial title on “Most Challenged Books” lists since its publication in 1960, and of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, recently banned in Chicago Public Schools (see last week’s Book●ed blog 451 Degrees – Part 1 for details).
Fahrenheit 451 is prescient and worth a read (or re-read) six decades after its first publication. Bradbury envisioned many technical and cultural developments that are common today. The book’s uncanny foresight magnifies the strength of its message: When we ban books, we repress thought; we reduce the ability to think; we diminish what it is to be human. If we do not defend the freedom of books to exist and be read, we could find ourselves fulfilling Bradbury’s dystopian nightmare.
We do not need to endorse books with viewpoints, language or imagery that are at odds with our own — but we should not fear them. Every book eventually stands on its literary merits. Poorly written books, those with gratuitous attempts to shock or titillate, will fall from their own weakness. Every book should be given a chance: to start a dialogue, to teach, to enlighten and to enhance humanity.
Recommended
Banned Books Week 2013 will occur September 22 through 28. See Banned Books Week for information and resources for getting your library or organization involved in this event.
451 Degrees – Part 1
Noted author Judy Blume once said, “Fear is often disguised as moral outrage.” I pondered this concept – one I happen to agree with – as I read a Chicago Tribune story about a student-run book club at Chicago’s Lane Tech College Prep High School. The club is called 451 Degrees, the temperature at which book paper burns in Ray Bradbury’s classic 1953 futuristic book about a repressive America that confiscates books and burns them. The Lane Tech book club was created by 16-year-old student Levi Todd with the express purpose of reading banned and controversial books.
Earlier this month, Chicago Public Schools issued a directive that removed all copies of the highly acclaimed, award-winning autobiographical graphic novel* Persepolis from seventh-grade classrooms because of “powerful images of torture.” Author Marjane Satrapi defended the book about her childhood during the 1979 Iranian revolution, noting, “These are not photos of torture. It’s a drawing and it’s one frame. . . Seventh graders have brains and they see all kinds of things on cinema and the internet.” (*For more about graphic novels, see last week’s Book●ed blog Let’s Get Graphic.)
As a parent, I am sensitive to the challenges of protecting children from unnecessarily disturbing or inappropriate words, images and values (whatever we deem them to be). The key word is unnecessarily; the concept is very subjective. In reality, we cannot protect our children from disturbing or inappropriate words, images or values. In today’s world, they are all around, seeping into our everyday lives. If we close our eyes to this reality, we fail our children and our society. Ignorance is not bliss.
We can do better by our children and our society by being vigilant about controversial books – not by jumping the banned book bandwagon, but by reading those books and discussing the aspects that have raised the controversy. We could all learn much about our world and the people in it and the events that shape our lives – and our future.
(continued in next week’s Book●ed blog)
Recommended
American classics that have been banned or challenged around the country include The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger; The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck; To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; and The Color Purple by Alice Walker. For more about books in the U.S. that have been challenged as well as information about classic novels that have been challenged and/or banned, please see Frequently Challenged Books.
It’s About the e in Read
I have a bundle of letters, tied in a pale pink satin ribbon, that my mother saved nearly 70 years ago. The letters were sent to her from, or about, my father when he was in the U.S. Army; when he was in training, in combat, missing in action, discharged, always longing to come home to his wife and young son (I was not born yet). I’ve read and re-read these letters, many written in my father’s hand. I treasure this remnant of the life he lead and the love he had for his family, to know what he (a quiet, reserved man) thought and felt during those important years in his life. Had eMail or Skype technology been available to my father during World War II, I would have no record today of the person he was at that time or what he experienced. As wonderful as the ease, speed and reach of using eMails is today, think of how much is lost in the infinite universe of the internet when we forego the archaic use of paper, pen and the postal service.
I mention this because of the explosive growth of eReaders and eBooks. Kindle. Nook. Kobo. Cute, simple names for the handy eReaders that have revolutionized everything about reading in the modern world. Friendly, cozy, endearing names for technical wonders that put a veritable world of literature and useful information at our fingertips. EBooks cost less than their printed and bound counterparts. They may contain immediate links to additional information or insights, which are not accessible from traditional books. EReaders can be tucked into a pocket or purse. They instantly make a virtual library available wherever you are. So many reasons to welcome modern technology into our reading lives. Yet the awareness of specific literature is more likely to evaporate into the “cloud” universe of e-technology once it has been viewed and returned to the world of bits and bytes storage. Literature that is solely in eBook format is more likely to be lost to future generations. E-literature is less likely to be serendipitously discovered while browsing titles on spines of book, standing like sentries in rows upon rows of bookshelves.
Call me an old-fashioned gal; I’m usually late to the high-tech dance. Although I recognize the many advantages of getting my lit fix via an eReader, I love the look, feel and smell of traditional books. I like the artistry that goes into the production of a hardcover book or a quality trade paperback: the choice of typeface, the grade of paper, the choice of cover graphics. I like a book that has a history when it comes to me, or begins a history after I’ve purchased and read it. I like my favorite books to remain as companions on my bookshelves, reminding me of the intimate journeys we shared.
An eReader is certainly going to be in my future. For Book●ed to cover the wide spectrum of what is being published and read, it is necessary for me to familiarize myself with all aspects, including eBooks, one of the fastest growing segments of the publishing industry. I will appreciate the ease of accessing a world of literature with the touch of a button. But traditional books, real books, will always be my first love.
Guilty as Charged
In the 1998 romantic comedy You’ve Got Mail, Meg Ryan loses the lovely little independent bookshop (“Little Shop Around the Corner”, an homage to the 1940 Ernst Lubitsch gem) she inherited from her mother and which she cherished. But she gets cute, multimillionaire mega-bookstore scion Tom Hanks and that makes for a happy ending. Sort of. For those of us who are not provided a very rich, attractive love interest in exchange for the closing of a favorite bookstore, life can be bitter indeed.
As large bookstore chains proliferated in the past couple of decades, local independent shops left the landscape because they couldn’t compete with the discount prices offered by the chains. Few foresaw the impact of Amazon (launched in 1994) and other internet booksellers that joined forces (or competed) with the chains. After Borders Books & Music (founded in 1971) – one of the world’s most expansive book retail chains — was taken over by equity investment buyers, then passed from one investment group to another without concern for books or the people who love them, it declared bankruptcy and closed in 2011.
In the past couple of years, I have seen the closing of one of the greatest independent bookstores – the legendary Bookman’s Alley in Evanston, Illinois – and two Borders stores in my area. Bookman’s Alley closed in July 2012, because owner Roger Carlson reluctantly retired after more than 3 decades of building a loyal clientele and awed admirers. Borders closed because its owners were really in the money business, not the book business.
Like many people, I look for the best prices on books I want to acquire. I buy them for a quarter a pop at my local library (comforting myself with the knowledge that my library gets the money), or at used book stores (helping staff there earn a living, I tell myself), or through Amazon and e-Bay (congratulating myself for being a thrifty shopper). I’m guilty as charged.
After once again watching Nora Ephron’s ode to romance, books and the Upper West Side of New York, I’ve decided Meg’s Little Shop Around the Corner – and all the little bookshops around the corners of our neighborhoods – are worth saving. I’ve committed to buying at least 6 books from my local independent bookstore every year. And hope it will continue to serve up the love of books I feel.
If you have a favorite independent book store, let me know about it – name, town/state/country – and what makes it special. I may post your reply in a future blog. In the mean time, please post a response with your favorite independent book store or just a comment.
Recommended
Literary agent Rachelle Gardner offers a wealth of suggestions for authors who are considering titles for their latest book. You can read these at how to title your book. For a list of tossed titles from more classic books, visit what 10 classic books were almost called. If you're curious about other past winners and the short list for the 2013 Diagram Prize, visit www.thebookseller.com.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly About Self-Publishing
Bowker, the company that manages ISBNs and bibliographic information for books published in the U.S., confirmed last October what most of us already knew: self-publishing is on a strong, upward trajectory. Between 2006 and 2011, the number of print and e-books self-published annually jumped an impressive 287%. Of nearly 346,000 print books published in the U.S. in 2011, self-published titles accounted for 43%. In addition, Bowker counted 87,201 self-published e-book titles – not including the many e-books that don't have ISBN numbers.
The availability of self-publishing is good news for writers who are increasingly frustrated by the dwindling opportunities with traditional publishing houses and the limits of small, independent publishers. It's good news for readers who want a broad selection of reading options. It's good for my unique, new Book.ed venture that provides a wide variety of effective, cost-efficient marketing opportunities for authors and others in the publishing community.
In the brief time since Book●ed started inviting authors and editors to submit their published work for a possible review on our weekly webcast (to debut this Spring — visit our website for more information), at least half the books received were self-published. The quality of writing and attention to detail in these books hover between the sublime and the ridiculous. (Cue the haunting whistler.) Here's where I get to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly about self-publishing. Pay attention aspiring authors!
Down every alley and around every corner you'll find a company that would love to publish your work. They'll try to entice you like an internet matchmaking service because they know you'’re hungry for success. Most of us wouldn'’t marry after the first date nor turn our child over to the first nanny that walks through the door, no matter how attractive or affordable they appear to be. So don't casually tie your reputation to a publisher you know nothing about. Don't give away your baby just because someone says they'll make it a star. Don't let fancy clothes or fancy claims corral you into something you'll later regret.
Like Forrest Gump's momma said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.” Except that you can get an idea of what you're going to get when you take that big bite out of your wallet to hire a company to publish your book.
Start paying attention to self-published books already on the market. Note the ones that present well, with crisp editing, free of typos and grammatical errors. Check lists of award-winning self-published books and notice the companies that produced them. They are likely to produce a good product for you, too.
Self-publishing used to be referred to as Vanity Press. While their capabilities have advanced, be realistic about what self-publishing can – and cannot – do for you, and be prepared to do your part to achieve success. Most houses offer a range of services; make a list of your priorities: decide what's most important for them to do, what you'’re prepared to pay and what you are capable of taking on yourself.
Remember: Getting your book published may be the final step of your writing journey bit it is just the first step of your journey to being read.
Recommended
The March/April 2013 issue of Writer’s Digest announces its Self-Published Book Awards. In addition to finding some quality reads, see which self-publishing companies are helping to produce award-quality products.
Recommended
If you missed the 2003 documentary movie, “Stone Reader”, rent a copy of the DVD. Why am I confident you'll love it? Because if you're following my blog, you're an avid reader or writer (or both). This movie will burrow into your heart and impassion you about literature, from inspiration to creation to appreciation.
Recommended
“Writer's Digest” magazine is currently calling for entries to its 21st annual “Self-Published Book Awards” competition. In addition to prizes for winners, all entrants receive a brief judge's commentary and a listing with a link on the “Writer's Digest” website. The deadline for submissions is April 1, 2013. For complete guidelines and to enter online visit Writers Digest.
Best Sellers Aren’t Always Best Books
Have you heard of the book Soundings by Hamilton Gibbs? No? According to Publishers Weekly, it was the best selling book of 1925. But F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby didn't even crack the top 10. In 1960, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird didn't reach the top tier either, although two of John O'Hara's steamy novels did climb that lofty pinnacle of consumer choice. In 2011, nearly 350,000 new book titles were published. How many of them will still be read in 2061? In 2099?
If magnificent books by authors like Fitzgerald and Lee had a hard time competing in the ‘20s and ‘60s, what are writers to do today to get their books to readers? What if they have something valuable to share but they're not quite of the caliber of those esteemed writers? How many good – or great – books are being overlooked in today's market?
There are tectonic shifts occurring in the publishing industry. The major houses that remain are money-driven in order to survive. It is challenging even for established authors to get publishing deals unless their last book was a best seller. Emerging authors face an even more daunting task to get their untested work accepted by the established players.
Meanwhile, the smaller, more independent publishers are also competing for readership, using tightly stretched budgets to market their authors' works. E-books are turning the industry on its ear as reading – and buying – habits are changing. Self-publishing is possibly the fastest growing segment, benefitting from both technological advances in publishing and a traditional industry that is less willing to groom new talent. Regardless of how a book gets published today, more responsibility for marketing is falling on writers' shoulders.
People are still hungry for good books. “Good” is subjective, of course. But people will buy only what they see promoted – and that's where literary art and marketing art diverge. We read about best sellers every day. I am glad for the authors – brilliant or pallid – that climb the pinnacles of best-sellerdom. But I can't help the sad feeling that we are not doing enough to help elevate the new great books by unsung authors that should be read and kept alive for future generations.
Recommended
If you're a serious writer (or artist or musician or dancer) in need of an idyllic yet stimulating environment in which to create new works, you should know about the 2-6 week residency programs at The Ragdale Foundation. Ragdale artists come from all over the country and around the world to the historic summer home of Arts and Crafts architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, in a peaceful setting adjacent to over 50 acres of prairie in Lake Forest, Illinois — 30 miles (one hour by train) from downtown Chicago. Visit Ragdale's website.
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If you're going to be anywhere near Boston between March 7th – 9th, visit Conference Overview for information about the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Annual Conference & Bookfair at the Hynes Convention Center. It's one of the largest and best conferences for anyone involved in the literary arts and publishing. AWP's Bookfair runs concurrently with the conference and, on Saturday, is open to the public. It is the nation's largest marketplace for independent literary presses and journals, creative writing programs, writing conferences and centers, and literary arts organizations. Sometimes, you can score a bunch of freebies on the last day!