Monday, May 30, 2011

Portland Ranks 19th on Amazon's "Well-read" Cities

Today Amazon counted the Top 20 Most Well-Read Cities in America. The list analyzed “data of all book, magazine and newspaper sales in both print and Kindle format since Jan. 1, 2011, on a per capita basis in cities with more than 100,000 residents.”
The complete list follows below–much to this GalleyCat editor’s dismay, does not include New York City. Maybe this means New Yorkers spend more time shopping at bookstores?
Check it out: “Cambridge, Mass.–home to the prestigious Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology–also topped the list of cities that ordered the most nonfiction books … Florida was the state with the most cities in the Top 20, with Miami, Gainesville and Orlando making the list.” (Via Publishers Lunch)
1. Cambridge, Mass.
2. Alexandria, Va.
3. Berkeley, Calif.
4. Ann Arbor, Mich.
5. Boulder, Colo.
6. Miami
7. Salt Lake City
8. Gainesville, Fla.
9. Seattle
10. Arlington, Va.
11. Knoxville, Tenn.
12. Orlando, Fla.
13. Pittsburgh
14. Washington, D.C.
15. Bellevue, Wash.
16. Columbia, S.C.
17. St. Louis, Mo.
18. Cincinnati
19. Portland, Ore.
20. Atlanta

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Andrew Wylie on Quality Editing

From Galley Cat;

In the new issue of WSJ Magazine, agent Andrew Wylie shared his thoughts about the contemporary publishing industry in an opinionated essay. We got a sneak peek at the essay where the famous agent pondered our digital future.
His essay stressed that despite self-publishing options, the writing profession needs “a chain of people who have authority and can help convey what is essential.” What do you think?
Here’s an excerpt: “The devaluation of quality editing and writing is sad and it’s inevitable. Each house has a large number of titles to publish, and with a difficult economy, fewer people to handle the publications. But publishers need to become smaller, leaner, and they will have to learn new disciplines. The whole one-year publication process must be reduced.”
UPDATE: Readers respond on Facebook:
Hookline Books: “Authors still need the endorsement of an outside party, be it a publisher, a prominent reviewer, advocate”
Leah Cummins Guinn “I’ve read quite a few self-pubbed books, and even though some were very good and most were average, all of them could have been greatly improved by a good editor.”
Olga Gardner Galvin “Some authors need outside validation; others less so. All authors need an editor and a proofreader.”

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Jaycee Dugard is Writing a Memoir about Life in Captivity

From Galley Cat;

On July 12, Simon & Schuster will publish a book by kidnapping victim Jaycee Dugard.
Entitled A Stolen Life, the book will provide a “stark, compelling narrative” about her tragic story. Last year, Dugard and her mother appeared in an ABC News feature. Her mother concluded with this statement: “As a mother I am pleading for our privacy in this very public story.”
Here’s more from the release: “Dugard, who was kidnapped at the age of 11 by Phillip and Nancy Garrido and held captive for 18 years, during which time she bore him two children, tells the full story of her ordeal in the book … [It] been written by the 31-year-old Dugard herself and will cover the period from the time of her abduction in 1991 up until the present.”

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Teen Who Faked Pregnancy Hires Literary Agent

From Galley Cat;

Washington teenager Gaby Rodriguez rocked the news cycle last month when she revealed that she faked pregnancy for a school project. The 17-year-old has hired literary agent Sharlene Martin of Martin Literary Management. She will share representation with Seattle attorney Anne Bremner.
Rodriquez mounted the project to expose stereotypes and “shed light on the social aspects of teen pregnancy.” She has reportedly received over 100 requests from media outlets to tell her story. Above, we’ve embedded an ABC News video about the project.
The high school student had this statement in the release: “ The point I was trying to get across is that you have to take control of your life and not live your life in the shadows of stereotypes and rumors … I had no idea my project would get this much attention.”

Monday, May 2, 2011

Syllabification and Curious Minds

When the concept of the syllable was first introduced to me in grade school, I pondered the difference between the length of some syllables with others. Yes, the cutoff for what qualified a collection of segments to be whole was clear, but why no word for the phenomen?

through and it- both one syllable
it and shit- one syllable
feel and at- also one syllable

It would be decades before I, a lover of words, would learn the concept of the half syllable. Understanding children are capable of a bit more helps create adults capable of a bit more.

Now, go enjoy the sun.