Monthly Archives: April 2010

Rights

Skelton & Kinsella Sell World Rights To Hay House

Sent By An AngelHay House, the global publishers of lifestyle and Self-help titles, has bought the world rights (excluding Ireland) to Kevin Skelton and Yvonne Kinsella’s Sent By An Angel which was published by Poolbeg in Ireland.

The book will be published in the UK in Spring 2011 and US and other editions will follow later in the year.

The deal was brokered by recently formed literary agency, Prizeman & Kinsella, and the acquiring editor was Hay House Managing director, Michelle Pilley.

Comment & Features

Harnessing The Ill Wind: Freelancing In A Recession

Proofreading
Alicia McAuley is a freelance editor and book designer. She has run her own business since 2006. You can find out more at www.aliciamcauley.com.


Those of us who provide services to book publishers – copy-editors, proofreaders, indexers, designers, illustrators and so on – depend on those companies for our livelihood. So can we expect that in an unhealthy market, where many publishers are finding themselves in trouble, we will share their fortunes? On the face of it, not necessarily.

On the face of it, in fact, freelancers could be the ones to benefit from the economic ill wind. Redundancies (of which there have been lots, some companies losing up to half their workforce) mean that many publishers’ needs can no longer be met in house. Editing and production are therefore outsourced, leading to a hike in demand for freelancers. Right?

Right. But we must take into account the fact that those who have been made redundant have had to find a new way of making a living. And, in many cases, the very companies that have laid them off comprise the obvious market for their skills. In the absence of new in-house prospects, these people have either left the profession entirely, or – yes – gone freelance. So, as competition in the freelance market increases, it cancels out a good part of the extra demand.

Moreover, publishers have tended, naturally enough, to stretch the resources they have left rather than paying for outsourcing. In-house staff have been expected to mop up a lot of their former colleagues’ work.

And, as we all know, the total volume of work available has gone down. In the academic end of book publishing, cuts in government/university subsidies are now taking their toll, while in more commercial companies there is less sales revenue to play around with. Thus fewer books are being commissioned and there is just less to be done.

Publishers have tended, naturally enough, to stretch the resources they have left rather than paying for outsourcing. In-house staff have been expected to mop up a lot of their former colleagues’ work.

All this seems to paint a grim picture, but, for freelancers, there’s always a bright side to look on. We can take comfort in the idea that, if we do our job well, our existing clients will value us and will keep employing us as and when their resources allow them. A good editor, designer or indexer should and will always be in demand, even if that demand is less than it has been.

Besides, even during the boom, few of us were in it for the money. It is more likely that other things drew us to this way of life. As copy-editors, for example, we probably share a certain delight in the good exercise of judgement, in the acquisition and sound application of knowledge. We probably share the diamond cutter’s satisfaction in the process of grinding, faceting and polishing each idea to its brightest expression. And occasionally, too, we have the pleasure of working on a gem of great value.

We are likely to be independent souls. We like our freedom; we enjoy the control we have over our time and our prosperity. When we find ourselves hunched over a set of proofs at 11 p.m., we don’t resent it because we know that, deadline met, we can enjoy a late start and a long lunch the next day.

A good editor, designer or indexer should and will always be in demand, even if that demand is less than it has been.

Most of the time, too, we have choice. Not being tied down to a particular publisher’s stock-in-trade is a considerable freedom. We may work on an academic monograph one week and a chick-lit novella the next – and, consequently, we will not get fed up with either genre or find our skill set narrowing to the requirements of a certain type of work. Moreover, during these times, there is freedom in not being tied down to the economic fortunes of a single employer.

Perhaps, until the book market picks up, freelance service providers will be galvanised into exploring new markets, developing new client models and finding new directions in which to take our expertise. The recession may well mean that the ways of working that have paid our way in the last few years are no longer viable – at least for now – but, after all, why should that be a bad thing?


Photo Credit


© Alicia McAuley

Links

Daily Links 29/04/2010

DELVIN (Garradrimna) BOOK FAIR
Readings from The Valley of the Squinting Windows by Mary McEvoy and Eamonn Lawlor at the DELVIN (Garradrimna) BOOK FAIR
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Royal Irish Academy
This will be fun I think! See you there?
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A Quick Note On Media 2020
Publishers, why were you not at Media 2020?
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Irish Twitterati | Gadget Republic
David links to Gadet Republic’s take on the Twitterati
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Book Trailers
I’m not a huge fan of book trailers, I think most of them are terrible!
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Python loose in Bantry
Looks like a very good line up!
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Links

Daily Links 28/04/2010

Colum McCann in conversation with John Kelly from South Dublin Innovates on Vimeo.

GRACE WELLS INTERVIEW
Nice interview with Grace Wells
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Broken Spine #24: Book Shopping
Not much to argue with here!
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Three poets launching their collections
(author unknown)
Today, 01:06 p.m.
Shared by IPN
Quite a feast for poetry fans
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WINDING STAIR READING
The winding stair is a nice bookshop!
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Bookmasters Launch CONVERSO: A Creation & Digital Distribution
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Reviews of Gerard Smyth and Paul Perry
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Being Irish
Sean McMahon suggests you go out of your way to get a copy of this excellent collection…
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Béal Feirste Cois Cuain
A charming reissue of this gentle 1912 history of Belfast, says Sean McMahon
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An Act of Union
Russell Rees commends this fine study of high politics either side of Anglo-Irish Union.
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Islanders
A sumptuous record of arguably the most beautiful sea-lough on these islands, says Sean McMahon.
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A Failed Political Entity?
A controversial point of view argued persuasively says Russell Rees
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News

The Journal of Music Wins UTNE Arts Coverage Award

UTNE Independent Press Awards 2010The Journal of Music, an international bi-monthly music magazine published in Ireland, has won the 2010 UTNE Independent Press Award for Arts Coverage. The Journal of Music has been supported by the Arts Council since it was founded.

Commenting on the award, Editor Toner Quinn said:

Our aim was to create a new type of music magazine for international readers, one that provided the bigger picture on musical life across genres. It is a great honour for the magazine to be recognised by the UTNE awards, which have consistently highlighted the best alternative publications from around the world.

News

Picador Signs Belinda McKeon In Two Book Deal

Belinda McKeonIrish born writer Belinda McKeonz has signed a two book deal with Picador. Solace the first of two novels will be published in August 2011 with no date yet slated for the second, The Treasure. Picador acquired UK and Commonwealth (excluding Canada).

Mckeon now lives in Brooklyn, New York and she has attend Trinity college and recently finished a Masters in Fine Arts in Columbia University, New York. She is well known in Ireland as an arts writer with The Irish Times.

She has a blog here and her agent for the deal was Peter Straus at Rogers, Coleridge & White who is also Colm Toibin’s agent.

More here on Booktrade.info

Irish Top Ten

Irish Top Ten Week Ending 24/04/2010

Under The Rainbow, Mary O'SullivanAt some point the reign of the unlikely king of book sales, Steig Larsson is sure to end, but right now, you’d have to wonder when that might be. Good to see a top ten placing for Poolbeg with Mary O’Sullivan‘s book.

1: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest, Steig Larsson, 1,566
2: Hard Girls, Martina Cole , 1,314
3: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Steig Larsson, 1,238
4: The Girl Who Played with Fire, Steig Larsson, 1,010
5: Genesis, Karin Slaughter , 889
6: The Whisperers, John Connolly, 757
7: Under the Rainbow, Mary O’Sullivan, 713
8: Caught, Harlan Coben, 524
9: Mathematical Tables, TSO, 505
10: Brooklyn, Colm Toibin , 494

Data Supplied by Nielsen BookScan taken from the Irish Consumer Market week ending 24th April 2010

News

Hughes & Hughes Goes Into Liquation

Hughes & HughesHughes & Hughes was officially placed in liquidation at a creditors meeting in Dublin yesterday with Kieran Wallace of KPMG appointed as liquidator.

The Irish Times carries a full report:

Employees (who are ranked as preferential creditors) are owed €250,000, while employment-related taxes of €148,000 are also due. Almost €560,000 is owed in local authority rates.

More than €6.4 million is owed to the chain’s numerous unsecured creditors. Within this category, the Dublin Airport Authority – the former landlord of the chain’s outlets in the capital’s airport – is one of the largest creditors, being owed almost €690,000.

The largest unsecured creditors include many well-known book publishers and distributors. Penguin Books Ltd is owed more than €300,000; Harper Collins more than €256,000; and Eason Menzies Distribution in excess of €296,000. Independent book wholesaler Argosy is due about €150,000.

Links

Daily Links 26/04/2010

Verbal Arts MagazineMemoir by George W Bush to be published in November
I can’t see this being a huge seller in Ireland!
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Check out Verbal this week!
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First steps to literary glory
“I find men confusing,” Madeleine D’Arcy confessed when she was named New Irish Writer of 2009 at the 39th Hennessy X.O Literary Awards in Trinity College on Tuesday.
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From Birmingham to Capri
Interesting notes on local history
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The rules of write club
Nice double interview with Kevin Barry and Roddy Doyle!
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A new leash of life for chick-lit
Anita Notaro’s latest is reviewed!
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A Dail that really does the job . . .
Decent review for The Dail In The 21st Century, a book i commissioned while at Mercier Press
<a href="http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/a-dail-that-really-does-the-job-2150801.html" target="_blank"Read more…

KidsREAD: Tommy Storm and the Galactic Knights
Good old AJ Healy
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May 13th: AGM & Hugo Hamilton event
The AGM of Irish PEN takes place at 7 p.m. on Thursday 13 May at the United Arts Club.
Read More

News

Stuart Neville Wins A Los Angeles Times Book Prize

LA Times Book Prize LogoNorther Irish writer, Stuart Neville has won a Los Angles Times Book Prize in the Mystery / Thriller category for his novel, Ghosts Of Belfast (Published as The Twelve in the UK & Ireland).

He beat off competition from Megan Abbott, David Ellis, Attica Locke (recently nominated for the Orange Book prize) and Val McDermid.

The full list of category winners are below:

Biography: Linda Gordon, Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits
Current Interest: Dave Eggers, Zeitoun
Fiction: Rafael Yglesias, A Happy Marriage
Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction: Philipp Meyer, American Rust
Graphic Novel: David Mazzucchelli, Asterios Polyp
History: Kevin Starr, Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance 1950 – 1963
Mystery/Thriller: Stuart Neville, The Ghosts of Belfast
Poetry: Brenda Hillman, Practical Water
Science and Technology: Graham Farmelo, The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom
Young Adult Literature: Elizabeth Partridge, Marching for Freedom: Walk Together Children and Don’t You Grow Weary
Robert Kirsch Award: Evan S. Connell
Innovator’s Award: Dave Eggers

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