Reply

Paperback Originals

Posted by Jocelyn on September 23rd, 2010

oneday

Great article in today’s Wall Street Journal about the perceived stigma of paperback originals. The writer points out that one book, in particular, that could change the way we look at paperback originals is David Nicholls critically acclaimed ONE DAY which was released in the US as a paperback original and has gone on to sell incredibly well. It is also currently being adapted for film and will star Anne Hathaway. Paperbacks are an easier sell, less of a financial commitment, and can help build an author’s brand and recognition. They are also increasingly popular in the growing world of book clubs.

Reply

Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure

Posted by Jocelyn on September 14th, 2010

DSCN0183

I make no secret of my love for all things “O” and I have said on many occasions that I started Kelley & Hall because I was inspired by Oprah and her book club. I was enormously impressed by the way she could take a book and express such enthusiasm and delight in the words found within, urging her viewers to pick up a novel and discover new worlds. As her book club progressed, people soon learned that lives could be transformed by the messages and themes explored within the pages of a book and every one of us has a story to tell.

I started reading with Oprah when she announced her very first Oprah Book Club pick, Jacquelyn Mitchard’s THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN, and I never stopped.  My life has, quite literally, revolved around the printed word and it just made sense to build a career that allowed me to spend my time reaching out to readers about authors and the work they create.  You can imagine my delight when my enthusiasm for books and all things Oprah resulted in my invitation to one of the most talked about premieres in television history. Yes, I will be traveling with Oprah (along with K&H partner Gloria Kelley) to AUSTRALIA! I am so looking forward to documenting this trip and exploring a whole new world!  I will keep everyone posted on our journey with Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure.

Reply

Detach from the Results

Posted by Jocelyn on August 30th, 2010

amazon

When it comes to writing, there is a beauty in the unselfconscious mind. We allow our words to flow freely onto the page, we explore worlds and we try to disconnect from the audience. We are fully immersed in the writing process and business is a word we don’t even comprehend…during the writing process. Then we finish our books, our works of art, and have to begin to explore the business side. I have often heard from writers about the terror this stage of the game produces. Fixations on things like book sales, Amazon rankings and media coverage can suck all of the joy and energy out of that which you once dreamed about: being a writer.

I read an interesting piece on a blog the other day, ironically it was on a blog about acting! In the essay he writes that essentially you have to let go of the end result in order to succeed.

We need to have a direction we want to move in. But we must detach from the results. If we don’t detach from the results we will be locked in misery and thought. Also, detaching from the results opens us up to a possibility much grander than what our minds can imagine. We need to plant seeds and let them do their magic under the soil.

We often use the planting seed analogy when talking about publicity. We reach far and wide, send out messages and information to all appropriate outlets and often times the results far exceed our expectations. But these seeds also take time to come to fruition. You can’t send someone a book and have them read it, react the way you want and then cover it in a short period of time. However, often these seeds bloom in ways we never even dreamed. One person reads a book that we have sent them and it registers in an impossibly enlightening way. The right book at the right time. But if you, as the writer, spend your time obsessing over Amazon rankings or trying to beat the competition, you lose sight of that goal. To find readers and have them connect with your work, to open up a world inside the pages of a novel or memoir or non-fiction guide and have people understand and appreciate what you have created. In order to change lives and leave an impact, to honor your work as a writer, you have to detach from the results because it will only leave you self-conscious and stalled when completing future work. As Deepak Chopra (bestselling author and guru) says,

You do not want to dig up the seeds of your desires to see if they are growing, or get rigidly attached to the way in which they will unfold. You simply want to release them.

Reply

Some Weekend Reading

Posted by Jocelyn on August 26th, 2010

books

The debates are heating up as the dog days of summer come to an end and we prepare for the literary fest that fall brings. Here are some interesting tidbits that I have gathered from the literary world…

The Wall Street Journal wants to know if e-books are worth it?

Jennifer Weiner and Jodi Picoult take on Jonathan Franzen and the attention he has been getting for Freedom.

Barnes & Noble announced big losses.

Andrew Wylie got into an e-book battle with Random House, raising some serious questions.

Publishers Weekly announced that they will review self-published titles for a fee which raised a few questions from bloggers and writers.

Reply

In Between the Pages: A Look at September Magazines

Posted by Jocelyn on August 26th, 2010

I am always curious to see how many books are covered in the major magazines. I was actually quite impressed with the number of books that were either reviewed or briefly noted. It is also interesting to see which titles appear in more than one publication.

Redbook

The Widower’s Tale by Julia Glass

Ape House by Sara Gruen

Are You My Guru by Wendy Shanker

Presenting Tallulah by Tori Spelling

Elle Magazine

Let’s Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell

Juliet by Anne Fortier (front of book and elle.com)

The Wave by Susan Casey

Quiet as They Come by Angie Chau

The Book of the Dead by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson

Gold Boy, Emerald Girl by Yiyun Li

Room by Emma Donoghue

Strangers at the Feast by Jennifer Vanderbes

Salvation City by Sigrid Nunez

At the Dark End of the Street by Danielle McGuire (article)

Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi

Some Sing, Some Cry, Ntozake Shange

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine

Brain Storm by Rebecca Jordan-Young

Vanity Fair

Nicholas Sparks profiled

Salvation City by Sigrid Nunez

Dogfight, a Love Story by Matt Burgess

Vida by Patricia Engel

All is Forgotten, Nothing is Lost by Lan Samantha Chang

The Honor Code by Kwame Anthony Appiah

Big Girls Don’t Cry by Rebecca Traister

Check, Please by AJ Stern

The Daily Show’s Earth by Jon Stewart

The Pleasure Seekers by Tishani Doshi (in brief)

Empire of Dreams by Scott Eyman (in brief)

A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay (in brief)

The Odious Ogre by Norton Juster ( in brief)

Time For Dinner by Stang and Rosenstrach (in brief)

Dreaming in Chinese by Deborah Fallows (in brief)

Sarah: The LIfe of Sarah Bernhardt (in brief)

Working Together by Michael Eisner (in brief)

The Temptress by Paul Spicer (in brief)

My Bright Midnight by Josh Russell (in brief)

The Elephant’s Journey by Jose Saramago (in brief)

Skippy Dies by Paul Murray (in brief)

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

O, The Oprah Magazine

Juliet by Anne Fortier

I’d Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman

Designated Fat Girl by Jennifer Joyner

Hollywood by Larry McMurtry

The Lady Matador’s Hotel by Cristina Garcia

A Curable Romantic by Joseph Skibell

Bitter in the Mouth by Monique Truong

Ape House by Sara Gruen

Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay

Book of Days by Emily Fox Gordon

Getting to Happy by Terry McMillan

The Widower’s Tale by Julia Glass

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

Dreaming in Chinese by Deborah Fallows

Room by Emma Donaghue

The Wave by Susan Casey

Packing for Mars by Mary Roach

(Books that Made a Difference to news anchor Brian Williams)

Isaac’s Storm

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid

No Ordinary Time

The Promise by Jonathan Alter

The Great Bridge by McCullough

Medal of Honor

Personal History

Taking Charge and Reaching for Glory by Beschloss

GLAMOUR MAGAZINE

Rock What You’ve Got by Katherine Schwarzenegger

(7 Best Literary Heroines of All Time)

Little Women

Jane Eyre

Harry Potter

Sula

Pride and Prejudice

Eva Luna

Lysistrata

Entertainment Weekly

(This is a weekly magazine but still wanted to include the titles featured this week)

Juliet by Anne Fortier

Mentor by Tom Grimes

The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard

Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem

Parallel Play by Tim Page

The Self Suffient-Ishe Bible by Andy & Dave Hamilton

The Sisters Sinai by Janet Soskice

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo

Where the Money Went by Kevin Canty

Good Housekeeping

Juliet by Anne Fortier

Patti LuPone: A Memoir

Ape House by Sara Gruen

A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay

Vogue

Sarah: The Life of Sarah Bernhardt by Robert Gottlieb

Gold Boy, Emerald Girl by Yiyun Li

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Cosmopolitan

Men of Fire: Anthology by Susan Lyons, Rachelle Chase, and Jodi Lynn Copeland