Weekend Update #3
UPDATE: Tess Gerritson discusses the unbelievably spiteful pettiness of Michael Crichton, who inserted a fictional child rapist into his latest book to insult a critic. The New York Times investigates. (Last two links require free registration).
JA Konrath thinks you have ugly babies.
Literary agents Miriam Goderich and Miss Snark explain why your query letter sucks.
Seattle may be beaming at being recognised as America's Most Literate City, again, but I'm more amused that of the ten least literate, five are in California and four are in Texas.
The first reviews for the eagerly awaited new installment in Thomas Harris' oh who cares.
Prospect Magazine asks for, and receives, the most overrated books of the year.
Diana Peterfreund explains why your title sucks, and won't get used anyway. Pub Rants agrees.
And sobering statistics from Pub Rants. Extrapolated data: 80 query letters per day, 0.25% of which result in requests for full manuscripts. This is an exact measure of quality.
Victoria Strauss explains why scammers prosper, leaving out the obvious: most writers are idiots.
Rejecter explains why you won't make any money anyway.
Tod Goldberg hints at why authors shouldn't use MySpace.
Tess Gerritson admits that being a bestselling author is not a bulletproof vest.
Judith Regan, the publisher behind the OJ Simpson debacle, has been unceremoniously fired from HarperCollins. The ReganBooks imprint "will continue as part of the HarperCollins General Books Group," where it will be quietly dismantled and the staff reassigned to to Slush Division.
I can't help the feeling that Regan expected, even planned this, possibly as a way of breaking an otherwise ironclad contract. I call this the Skywalker Gambit, after Mark Hamill's attempt to break a TV contract so he could work on The Empire Strikes Back, using an automobile and a tree. At least Judith still has her looks.
Simpson's confession hypothetical murder memoir was of course cancelled, but if you're quick, and loaded, you can still snatch one up.
