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Picks of the Week

  • Adam Thirlwell: Politics: A Novel (P.S.)

    Adam Thirlwell: Politics: A Novel (P.S.)
    One would think this book is about sex, And while it is, since the characters have so much about it, some of it is kinky, and threesomes play a big role in the narrative. mostly POLITICS is about everything else: the mechanics, the logistics, the emotional minefields, the awkward questions, the moral dilemmas, and, well, the politics of what it is to be with someone you love or someone you don't, and how an act that should be simple is anything but. Thirlwell was disgustingly young when he wrote this but he absolutely understands that to make this book work, there must be an underlying sweetness and sincerity to the entire story. Now I want to see what he's up to more recently. Amazon | Indiebound | B & N | Borders | Powell’s

  • Jennifer Mascia: Never Tell Our Business to Strangers: A Memoir

    Jennifer Mascia: Never Tell Our Business to Strangers: A Memoir
    Years ago I was blown away by Mascia's Modern Love piece describing her parents' secret past: her father was a mobbed-up convicted murderer, and her mother not only knew all about it, but aided and abetted her husband when life required being a fugitive, selling drugs, and living at great highs and crushing lows. Mascia's book tells a more whole story about her peripatetic life, and even with every new shocking revelation what remained consistent was how much she loved her parents, no matter how deep those lows went, and how much she misses them now that they are gone. Unconditional love never goes away, no matter if those who receive it deserve it. Indiebound | Amazon | Borders | B & N | Powell’s

  • Juli Zeh: In Free Fall

    Juli Zeh: In Free Fall
    Give me a novel of ideas and if the story is good and the characters are believable and entertain me, I am there. Give me a crime novel of ideas, where two physics professors, friends and rivals, opposites but startlingly similar, do emotional battle on an intellectual canvas, raise the stakes through betrayal, the possible kidnapping of a child, and embroil a romantic-leaning police detective in the complicated machinations of quantum theory, and holy hell, I think I have myself one of my favorite books of the year. Powell’s | Indiebound | Amazon | Borders | B & N

  • Simon Lelic: A Thousand Cuts

    Simon Lelic: A Thousand Cuts
    It appears to be a crime with an easy solution: a disgruntled schoolteacher shoots up his place of employment and kills several students in the process. But really, Lelic's novel is about the catastrophic consequences of bullying, and how this act is hardly limited to kids turning on other kids, but burrows deeply into adult relationships as well. He evokes empathy for the killer and sympathy for Lucia, the investigating officer who has to fight for every scrap of dignity as she pieces together the far more complex truth of what really happened at the school. Powell’s | Amazon | Borders | Indiebound | B & N

  • William Lindsay Gresham: Nightmare Alley

    William Lindsay Gresham: Nightmare Alley
    I cannot stop raving about this book to people. The circular narrative structure, the demented feel of a traveling carny troupe, and the extraordinary rise and precipitous fall of Stan Carlisle give off the persistent, raging feeling that hell is always with us, and success is basically a sucker's game. No matter what the biographical evidence on Gresham's state of mind leading up to and after the book's bestseller (and movie basis) status in 1946, I don't think we can really know what demons plagued him to produce this marvelous noir gem. B & N | Indiebound | Amazon | Borders | Powell’s

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« The Mother's Day Weekend Update | Main | Quick Smatterings »

May 14, 2007

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Comments

Sandra Ruttan

You said it Sarah. My first reaction when I saw the news last week was the jaw drop. Then I started to worry. Not all deals get announced... I'm really surprised they didn't keep this quiet.

Lana Lang

You never know. Dan Brown had three unsuccessful novels with two prior publishers before The Da Vinci Code hit.

MJ

I'm betting Shakey will buy back the rights to the second book or the publisher will becuase its really a tough senario if they don't - as Sarah laid out.

Sandra Scoppettone

This is the kind of deal that can ruin a career. I've had similar deals twice. Each was different from the other and each looked fabulous and both times I ended up a dead duck. Yes, the money was great, but in the end it wasn't worth it. I hope Sakey works this out. But even if he gets out of the deal with St. Martin, if his first book with Dutton doesn't pay out he'll be in trouble. I think it's too early in his career for a deal like this. But what do I know?

Todd Robinson

I think that in the worst-case scenario (SMP doesn't promote book 2), Mr. Sakey can then do his own promotional legwork (with the big Dutton bucks) and Dutton can really push the overdrive on his promotion. I don't feel that all is lost even in the worst case. If Mr Sakey does indeed have the long-term chops, then class will win out in the end.

Todd Robinson

I think that in the worst-case scenario (SMP doesn't promote book 2), Mr. Sakey can then do his own promotional legwork (with the big Dutton bucks) and Dutton can really push the overdrive on his promotion. I don't feel that all is lost even in the worst case. If Mr Sakey does indeed have the long-term chops, then class will win out in the end.

David J. Montgomery

Worst case scenario would be SMP dumps Book #2, it flops miserably, and Dutton either cancels the contract or cuts the print run back drastically due to low chain orders (in which case the book has no chance of earning out). I doubt that will happen, but you never know.

I think MJ's right that the best move is to buy back Book #2. I'd hate to see a promising writer like Sakey get hamstrung so early in his career.

Marcus' ears must be burning from all the people talking about him. :)

Bill Peschel

Does it really matter? Apart from getting review copies, I've never seen much in the way of promotion from St. Martin's.

David J. Montgomery

That's true of the typical Minotaur title, but SMP seemed to give a much more significant push for Sakey's first book.

Lana Lang

Minotaur publishes like a zillion books a year, with small press runs and tiny advances for its authors. But there are a handful of exceptions a year. John Hart was last year's major exception, Marcus Sakey this year's.

Bill Peschel

Thanks for the clarification.

Jersey Jack

I don't think anybody has to push Sakey's second book. Readers will pull it right off the shelves.

Sandra Ruttan

A further note on all of this, not that it matters to anyone else...

But I always find it interesting to see what gets pushed here, as it's different than the US market. In two provinces, in the third and fourth largest cities in Canada, I can't walk into a chain bookstore and buy Marcus's first book. I haven't found it in a single outlet once. Whatever promotion was done for TBI completely overlooked the main market in Canada.

So no matter what happens in the US for book 2, Dutton will have ground to cover for their titles on this side of the border.

By contrast, multiple copies of books from debuting authors Gregg Olsen, Philip Hawley Jr, Sean Chercover have been available in Chapters/Indigo. I'm not even going to begin speculating on why that happens. But the push an author can give their work through promotion will only take it so far. If the publisher doesn't produce a good cover, doesn't send out enough review copies early enough, doesn't push for the book to be stocked, it's an uphill battle. And in this case it may be tougher. Marcus enjoyed a lot of support and publisher promotion for book #1. Do booksellers care about the story behind the book, or will they only take note of the fact that the second book isn't being pushed?

Actually, I wish someone could answer that question. I know what bookstore owners here tell me...

Aside from that I never did say congrats Marcus. I hope it all works out for you.

Sandra Ruttan

A further note on all of this, not that it matters to anyone else...

But I always find it interesting to see what gets pushed here, as it's different than the US market. In two provinces, in the third and fourth largest cities in Canada, I can't walk into a chain bookstore and buy Marcus's first book. I haven't found it in a single outlet once. Whatever promotion was done for TBI completely overlooked the main market in Canada.

So no matter what happens in the US for book 2, Dutton will have ground to cover for their titles on this side of the border.

By contrast, multiple copies of books from debuting authors Gregg Olsen, Philip Hawley Jr, Sean Chercover have been available in Chapters/Indigo. I'm not even going to begin speculating on why that happens. But the push an author can give their work through promotion will only take it so far. If the publisher doesn't produce a good cover, doesn't send out enough review copies early enough, doesn't push for the book to be stocked, it's an uphill battle. And in this case it may be tougher. Marcus enjoyed a lot of support and publisher promotion for book #1. Do booksellers care about the story behind the book, or will they only take note of the fact that the second book isn't being pushed?

Actually, I wish someone could answer that question. I know what bookstore owners here tell me...

Aside from that I never did say congrats Marcus. I hope it all works out for you.

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