We were thrilled to hear that CEO Reads has named Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Ellen E. Schultz’ expose, RETIREMENT HEIST:  How Companies Plunder and Profit from the Nest Eggs of American Workers one of the best business books of the year in the “Finance and Economics” category.  Congratulations, Ellen and the brilliant publishing team at Portfolio/Penguin who have made this important book a critical success!

It’s inevitable that just as each of us makes personal resolutions for the New Year, so too must business owners assess the state of their businesses, of their industry, and how we might better serve our clients in the future. For yours truly, this means the following:

Find the silver lining: For all the gloom and doom that dominates discussions about the future of books, of any print medium, for that matter, the devaluation of content in terms of what customers are willing to pay for it, this continues to be an exciting time.  With innovation and change, comes opportunity.  I can’t turn back the clock on publishing to “the good old times” (which, by the way, were always at the time, going to be “the end of publishing as we know it”), but I can embrace new opportunities.

What does this mean for our clients?  It means that we will continue to seek out pathways to getting published, whether that means selling to traditional publishers, up-and-c0ming new publishers, stalwart small presses, university presses, e-book publishers or a combination or hybrid.

Small can be beautiful: After more than a decade in business, the agency is entering what I like to call its “young maturity.”  With over 100 clients, we already in a sense have the clients we want.  We need to be sure that in the desire to seek out new talent, we in no way the talent we already house.  Our existing clients are incredibly valuable to us.  Not only do they represent many wonderful books that have already been brought to market, but more great books that can be brought into being. We want to be sure that we have the energy and vision to continue to nurture and build this talent.

Think big: OK, it sounds like I am contradicting myself, but I want not only to continue to think big for the clients we already represent as we continue to work with them to build their success, but also to make sure that we are open to finding the right new clients to take on for the future.  Who might they be?  We can afford now to be ever more selective. These new potential writers will be ones who come to us highly recommended by our existing clients, or by editors and other industry insiders who know us, as well as ones that we seek out.  Very occasionally, they will come in over the transom, dazzling us with a brilliant query letter, a stunning proposal, exquisite sample material or in a few cases, a completed manuscript that is polished and calls to us.  (For more about what we like and seek, dig deeper into “About Us” on this site, and also our agent profiles.)

The world will be our oyster: As a former editor, one aspect of agenting that I absolutely adore is dealing with the global demand for our books.  We continue to expand beyond our borders with the help of our amazing subagents, specialists in different areas of the world.  Every time we license one of our books in another country and/or language, there is an immense sense of validation and satisfaction. The hunger for the information and perspective our authors provide, or the entertainment they pen in other cultures is acute.  Not all books will make it in a global marketplace, but many will.

I can’t wait to get started on the big adventure that will be 2012 in books for Joelle Delbourgo Associates.  Join me!

–Joelle Delbourgo

As an agent, I love all of my “children.”  That said, there are some recently published books as well as perennial favorites that are natural gifts for the holidays, so I ask my authors in advance for forgiveness that I am highlighting a few–not all–here.

For Hannukah, the perfect gift is Rabbi Israel Meir Lau’s extraordinary memoir, OUT OF THE DEPTHS:  The Story of a Child of Buchenwald Who Returned Home at Last, Forewords by Shimon Peres and Elie Wiesel (Sterling). One of the yongest survivors of Buchenwald, Israel Meir Lau is descended from a 1,000-year unbroken chain of rabbis.  Saved by his brother and his own ingenuity, he went of to become Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, one of the most respected and charismatic leaders of the Jewish faith, revered worldwide.  His harrowing, suspenseful and miraculous story, just hit the bestseller list as #1 in nonfiction in the English language, ahead of STEVE JOBS!

For the obsessed followers of the award-winning television series, Mad Men, Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin’s THE UNOFFICIAL MAD MEN COOKBOOK: Inside the Kitchens, Bars and Restaurants of “Mad Men” (BenBella) will help fans make it until the season debut in March. In the meantime, we can all dine like Draper and drink like Sterling with more than 70 terrific recipes from the era, from Sardi’s Steak Tartare to Lindy’s Cherry Cheesecake–and of course, the Playboy Whiskey Sour. I am planning to have a Mad Men-themed party for right after the holidays, using the recipes from this book–can’t wait!

History buffs will be swept away by Deborah Swiss’ THE TIN TICKET: The Heroic Journey of Australia’s Convict Women (Berkley).  The true story of women who were shipped to Australia to settle with and marry convicts, it is also the inspiring tale of how these women built a continent.  Philip Freeman’s JULIUS CAESAR and ALEXANDER THE GREAT (both from Simon & Schuster) offer accessible dramatic lives of these remarkable military leaders, both available now in paperback.

Fiction lovers can enjoy Ben H. Winters’ creepy modern horror tale, BED BUGS (Quirk), Richard Tyler Jordan’s hilarious Polly Pepper mysteries (Kensington), including REMAINS TO BE SCENE, and North Carolina native, Pamela Duncan’s captivating THE BIG BEAUTIFUL (Bantam).

For the photography buff, fine art photographer Zeva Oelbaum’s BLUE PRINTS presents artifacts from nature in cyanotype. It’s to pretty that it will grace the coffee table and bedroom as well.

Enjoy!

–Joelle Delbourgo

 

Rabbi Meir Lau’s memoir, OUT OF THE DEPTHS,  just hit #1 in nonfiction in English-language books in Israel.  This puts it ahead of START UP NATION (#2) and STEVE JOBS (#3)!

Audible asked me to to contribute a blog post to their site about my experience creating an audio working directly with an author through their ACX site. I had so much fun that I’m working on two more projects.  You can read about it here:

http://tinyurl.com/6whgf8z

–Joelle Delbourgo

The demise of traditional book publishing and explosion of self-publishing opportunities seem to be two sides of a coin.  Many authors are questioning the value of what a traditional publisher can provide and are choosing to publish books themselves.  The availability of e-pub options make this appear deceptively easy.  It would appear that anyone who is a little bit tech-savvy or can hire someone who has the technical ability to do it for them can upload a file, and presto, is now a published author.

This is amazing and in many ways thrilling, but as an industry veteran (and a former editor and publisher), I don’t believe that it can in any way duplicate the contributions of a traditional publisher, if you have that choice.  Publishing a book is a team effort, requiring the exquisite coordination of a passionate editor/advocate who will help you to shape a book, a copyeditor, designers for the cover and the interior (usually two different people), and a host of marketing and sales people, each contributing a specific expertise honed through years in the trenches.  When the “system” works, it is a beautiful thing.  So much thought and craft go into it.

It’s well known that for most authors, finding a traditional publisher is practically impossible without the stewardship of a literary agent.  The agent is much more than a seller.  Most effective agents today curate content, through their selection, development skills and editorial polish.  Indeed, editors count on agents to bring material to a very high level before they share it with publishing houses.  An agent stakes his or her reputation on knowing who to submit to and the form in which an editor and house expects to see it.  Once a book is sold, an agent is in it for the duration, creating a bridge between the author and the publishing house, sharing knowledge every step of the way, helping an author to build a reputation and brand, as well as a book.  The goal is not only for the book to be successful, but for it to have legs so that it continues to sell (and generate income for the author and agent) for years to come.

For those who are not able to snare a coveted publishing contract, agents can still play a major role. These industry professionals can advise you on the pitfalls and opportunities as you attempt to navigate the self-publishing process, connecting you with the virtual publishing company you need to create to publish your book successfully.  Not all agents will work with self-published authors, but many more today will, and if you can get a trusted, reputable agent to partner with you in this way, you will be that much the wiser.

So regardless of the path you choose (or the one that chooses you!), consider turning to such resources as Jeff Herman’s excellent annual Guide to Publishers and LiteraryAgents, or the AAR (Association of Author’s Representatives) website to find your perfect partner.

–Joelle Delbourgo

 

November marks the publication of OUT OF THE DEPTHS: The Story of a Child of Buchenwald Who Returned Home at Last, by Rabbi Israel Meir Lau. A memoir by an extraordinary man who I am honored to have worked with, the book chronicles the life of the child who would be come Chief Rabbi of Israel, continuing an unbroken chain of rabbis in his family for a thousand years. With forewords by both Shimon Peres and Elie Wiesel, and illustrated with photos of the rabbi with world leaders such as Fidel Castro, Nelson Mandela, Yihtzak Rabin, Pope John Paul II and many others.

Last week, Rabbi Lau was interviewed at the 92nd St. Y in New York by Rabbi Menachem Genack of the Orthodox Union and a long-time friend in a lively sold-out event. I also attended a beautiful reception honoring Rabbi Lau and his book at the Plaza Hotel.

Rabbi Lau spoke movingly of his experiences, of the many “angels” who had protected him at different points in his life, and the obligations of a rabbi to his community (currently Tel Aviv), his nation and the international community.

Here is a wonderful video of Rabbi Lau:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-GqJqz1b6w

–Joelle Delbourgo

A month ago, I met with a former colleague from my early days as an editor at Bantam Books, Roger Cooper, now Publisher of Vanguard Press and a senior executive at Perseus, headed by another former colleague (and boss!), David Steinberger.  Perseus, the largest independent publisher in the US, has built an impressive distribution business geared to small presses. Now, Cooper explained, they were extending some of that capability to literary agencies, offering “a cutting-edge digital service” to our clients through Argo Navis Author Services, which they describe as “a digital distribution and marketing service designed to enable professional authors with reverted or not-in-print works too get their titles to the marketplace”.  Agents, Perseus reasons, are already curating content; a natural next step is to have them acting as an interface between authors and Argo Navis.  Now, our authors can revitalize works that are no longer readily available or bring to market works for which they hold the electronic text rights.

I’m delighted to share with you the news that we’ve just signed with Perseus Books to participate in this exciting program.  We can’t wait to discuss the possibilities with our clients. ArgoNavis offers many levels of service, including a print-on-demand component and even an option to do small print runs.  I have confidence in this relationship because Perseus has already, in effect, road-tested this system with their small press clients.  Now we, in concert with our clients, can in effect, become small presses.

–Joelle Delbourgo

 

We were so excited when Executive Editor Françoise Bui gave us our first glimpse of Delacorte’s beautiful jacket for Anne Greenwood Brown’s YA debut Lies Beneath (about a family of murderous mermaids in Lake Superior coming in June 2012) that we just had to share!

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids.  They plan to kill Jason Hancock, the man they blame for their mother’s death.  To draw Hancock out, Calder is assigned the job of seducing his daughter, seventeen year-old Lily. Except that Calder screws everything up by falling in love.  He is forced to choose between loving Lily and plotting her father’s death, between loyalty to his sisters or to his new love.

- Jacqueline Flynn