Friday, September 12, 2008

The latest on literary agents

GalleyCat has a nice roundup of literary agent news, including a literary agent's thoughts on Amazon's Kindle, why the industry is all about waiting and a few more points of interest. Read on, friends:

Over at the Guide to Literary Agents blog, Chuck Sambuchino announces the winner of the "Worst Storyline Ever" contest. Even though the winning entry will never get anywhere near an agent, somebody needs to sell this:

"After losing badly in The Kentucky Derby, a horse is sold to the glue factory where he is processed and bottled, and we follow the stories of everyone who uses the glue, from a nose-picking pre-schooler to a dyslexic kidnapper who glues cut-out letters on a ransom note, until the last drop is gone."

Curtis Brown agent Nathan Brandsford warns writers about the abuse of a certain phrase in queries. The fragile dreams of melodramatic writers around the world are shattered.

Thinking about buying a Kindle? Ask yourself, what do book agents think about this strange new device? Janet Reid from Fine Print blogs her answer.

Agent Kate Schafer meditates on the "glacial" pace of the book business. "If you want a career in publishing, get used to waiting," she writes, patiently.

Burn After Reading


From this week's Time Out New York:
Burn After Reading is a disposable lark, and it’s treated by the filmmakers as such; Forget After Seeing would be a far more honest title.

Yowch. Has anyone seen this yet who can give their opinion?