As you may have noticed, the DGLM blog has begun to change just a bit. There’s been more activity around here, and that’s only the beginning.
We’re beginning a gradual process of changing the way we do things. First and foremost, there will be more entries, more regularly, from more agents. And we’ll be paying closer attention to which posts you guys seem most excited about and trying to give you the content you’re looking for. We’re aiming to link more, to post more multimedia, and to start more conversations with you fine folks.
Change will be gradual, but we’re hoping to get feedback from all of you and to incorporate as many of your ideas as we can to build a stronger blog together. We may not be able to take on every suggestion, but we promise to listen and consider what you have to say. And we hope you’ll continue to let us know as we go along as well--and let us know what you think of the changes you see!
So what do you think? What would you like to see from us that we’re not already doing? What should we do more of? Is there anything you see on other blogs, particularly publishing industry blogs, that you’d also like to see here? And which other blogs are you reading? Which subjects do we cover too much and which should we cover more (or at all)? We’re thinking of switching from Blogger to WordPress--yay or nay? Polls and contests would be fun, right?
We're looking forward to hearing your feedback and finding out how we can make this a more fun, helpful, and rewarding experience for us all! Let us know in the comments!
-Lauren
P.S. If anyone can tell me how to convince blogger to change the link color to what the Fonts and Colors screen tells me the link color is, I'd definitely appreciate it! I even tried poking around in the HTML, pretending to know what I'm looking for, and I don't see the bright blue and purple of the links and followed links in the settings anywhere. UPDATED: Thanks for the help! It's fixed now!
Monday, November 02, 2009
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I use Wordpress on my own blogs and I'm a great fan of it, in no small part because it means I can host blogs on my own server and it's reasonably easy to maintain. But when it comes to other blogs I visit, as long as I can read it and leave comments on interesting posts, I don't particularly care what platform it's running on. So I'd say that if it'd be easier for you all to run a Wordpress site than it would be Blogger, go for it.
ReplyDelete(Although I will add that from a reader perspective, Wordpress seems a bit nicer than Blogger since it gives you a wider range of opportunities to subscribe to followup comments on a particular interesting thread.)
As an author seeking representation in the meantime, I'd love to see a bit more data from your agency about any changes in what you're seeking to represent. In particular, if any of you start looking (or are looking already) for SF/F, I'd be very interested in updates about that!
Publishing industry news in general is good; I quite appreciated the recent post about Stephen King's publishers not releasing the ebook of his next work along with the hardback, since it started some nice substantial discussion. That's what's kept me interested in reading your all's blog even if I haven't queried you.
Occasional polls and contests would be nifty as well.
Thanks for taking the time to ask your readers what we'd like to see more of. Most appreciated!
Sounds exciting! I'll be looking forward to more posts, on any subject really in the publishing sphere, especially where submissions are concerned.
ReplyDeleteI have one blog each on Blogger and Wordpress; I still prefer Blogger for ease of use though I know WP has more bells & whistles to play with that are useful. As a blog reader, I like Blogger's one-click ability to 'follow', and have fewer problems with loading time (I'm rural and stuck with dialup) and occasional hangups while commenting: these have been real issues with me on a number of Wordpress blogs, but not all.
One thing I enjoy on another agency blog that I don't see much elsewhere is a 'wishlist' of titles or ideas updated regularly---whether it's real or just for fun is hard to tell, but offers great story ideas and keeps me checking back.
Thanks for asking for feedback; I'm looking forward to seeing what happens!
I haven't been commenting a lot lately (busy period in life at the moment), but I do follow the blog regularly and am excited to see more content. I'd like to see more input from individual agents on what they're interested in, and maybe some insight into why they took on previous projects. It's always interesting to see how the agent's mind works, both when they choose to represent books I enjoy and when they've represented books that weren't my taste.
ReplyDeleteRe: Colors.
ReplyDeleteGo to your dashboard. Click on Layout. Click on the Fonts and Colors tab.
Scroll on the left to highlight what color you want to change (i.e. background, links, text, etc...), then click on the right to select the color you want. Save!
I hope this helps.
Great responses! Keep 'em coming!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Majo, but unfortunately I've tried that. It claims that the colors it's set on are the ones I picked, even though looking at the post they're completely different colors. Not sure what's going on!
-Lauren
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/blogger/thread?tid=7ab9b02155b0d1c5&hl=en
ReplyDeleteTry this link for help with the color problem.
As for the blog, I prefer Blogger but would follow on Wordpress as well since it's the content I'm interested in.
I like all the various post topics, but my favorite posts are the ones about the process of finding a new author, selling a book, ect. As an amateur I really appreciate the behind the scenes look, so to speak. =)
Thanks, Tara. That's not doing the trick either, but maybe if I post a question there someone will come to my rescue!
ReplyDeleteAnd can I ask why you prefer Blogger? We're not set on switching, but we're sick of Blogger's weird formatting tics and limited options. But we're open to sticking around here if that's what people prefer!
-Lauren
Sorry it wasn't more helpful.
ReplyDeleteI prefer Blogger because I am a Google junkie who likes having everything linked to my Google account and because I am a creature of habit. I have used Blogger for years and so it's what I like. If having this blog on Wordpress means more features and literary treats then I'm all for change though.
I'd like to hear something about why agents do agenting, other than the ubiquitous "because I love books." I'm sure it's true, and I love books too. But why choose to be an agent and not an editor? Do many agents try their hand at writing? Do you do a lot of editing as an agent anyway? Are there agents who like the business, negotiation, or contract side of the job best? Is it just something one falls into, like so many other things?
ReplyDeleteOne thing I'd like to commend DGLM on is the relatively low use of images in the posts. I appreciate the thoughtfulness that goes into the posts and it's the information that I value. A funny or ironic photo that happens to be related to the post in some tangential way just slows me down, especially on a mobile device. I don't know if your lean look is by design, but I like it.
I have no experience with Blogger but I like Wordpress quite a bit.
First, thanks for talking to 'the great unwashed'-all us writer types. Next, Noah Lukeman does not accept any queries, but his blog allows that he responds to questions put by writers, selectively, of course. I dropped him a line or ten the other day, asking his opinion of the direction I had chosen for my new 2 novel query marathon. I suggest that your blog may become a forum where writers talk to you in a relaxed way, and you find clients in a new way, even as you maintain the strict, logical query scenario.
ReplyDeleteI'm seeing your outfit recommended everywhere I search. I'll be pitching you, soon. thanks, Charlie
I am one of DGLM's clients and I read the blog because of the industry news and the thought provoking posts. I think that's what makes it different than most agency blogs. It's not all about how to get an agent or what writers are doing wrong in queries. I read several blogs that are like that, and they're interesting too, but what I like about this blog is it's business oriented. It keeps me up to date on things I haven't seen everywhere else, while also debating thoughtfully the big and small changes publishing is going through.
ReplyDeleteI like the variety of people posting too. I wouldn't mind hearing more about books you're all excited about - and they don't have to be DGLM books, so I'm not trying to plug myself and fellow clients or anything with that suggestion. I've found the posts about what you all read in your "spare" time interesting too.
I guess, what I'm really saying, is MORE (as in more frequent, like you're proposing) of the same would be great without any big changes in flavour or style.
The changes sound exciting! Can't wait to read more. As for industry blogs I read, there's GalleyCat, Nathan Bransford's blog, Kristin Nelson's blog Pub Rants, Janet Reid's blog, Jessica Faust's blog, Editorial Ass, Editorial Anonymous, Pimp My Novel, QueryShark, Miss Snark's First Victim, Betsey Lerner's blog, the Upstart Crow Literary Agency blog, and Colleen Lindsay's The Swivet.
ReplyDeleteGoogle Reader is my friend.
Blog posts about individual agency (or agent) related stuff are the kind I tend to love most, since there's an abundance of blogs that cover the Big Industry News already. But posts about agents' personal preferences in books, movies, queries, scotch, genres, and monsters? Not enough of those!
In particular, a few standout DGLM posts that come to mind are the series on the DGLM agents' favorite books that ran a few months ago, Jim McCarthy's recent post on voice, and Michael Bourret's response to Cheryl Klein's submission proposal. Any post where you guys discuss your love (or hate) of certain books is also an immediate win.
Sorry to hear the problem with the colors won't go away.
ReplyDeleteLike Tara, I'm a Google junkie and tend to stick to blogger for my fix. Though there are blogs in wordpress that I like, the truth is that though I mean to read them, I tend to forget. Then again, there are probably wordpress fans who don't make it to blogger.
I am very pleased to see more content! I am also chuffed to see a variety of contributors.
ReplyDeleteSomething I think that will benefit most of us visiting your blog is perhaps reasons why you have chosen xyz to represent - was it the query letter (and perhaps show examples of these that worked), voice, style, characterisation etc.
Also, industry news is also really good as well as a bit of further information on what you guys are currently looking for / seeing too much of, etc.
I've been very happy with the posts so far, and I look forward to reading more regular posts. I especially like the "what we are looking for" posts. I like Liz's idea of example query letters and examples of voice, etc. Thanks for asking the masses, it is appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Terisa: I also appreciate the lack of graphics. It's not that I don't like photographs and pictures, but they really do slow things down.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to know more about what you like too, and why you like it. And I always appreciate book recommendations.
Great! I love hearing about the publishing community. I get all my publishing news from agent blogs - I don't know where else to find it out here in the boonies!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the personal feel and insight a blog can give an aspiring writer to an agent's tastes and requirements. So I'll be sure to check out your blog often. I'm glad to hear you'll be putting more energy into your blog.
ReplyDeletePlease consider losing the light type on a not-very-dark background. Reading your blog gives me eyestrain. And your pages load slowly enough that I thought my browser had frozen.
ReplyDeleteYour content is interesting, but trying to read it is painful to the eye.
I just found your blog today from a link on Nathan Bransford's page. I love your content, but I too find light type on a dark background very hard to read.
ReplyDelete
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