Talking turkey...

by Miriam

Yes, of course I’m grateful for my amazing family and friends, and my funny, smart, inventive and crazy co-workers. Yadda, yadda. Today, right before we go off to cook and eat until we can’t eat any more only to fix ourselves a sandwich with leftover turkey a few hours later, I want to share some of the things I’m thankful for about the venerable, bloody but unbowed publishing business. In no particular order, I’m grateful that

• I was able to read Jonathan Franzen’s brilliant opus in hardcover (that book is HEAVY!) and Robert Harris’ delicious The Ghost Writer (strongly recommend it) on my Kindle. Turns out I still buy hardcovers and have the equivalent of my bedside table’s weighty load in my e-reader ready to dive into wherever I may be;
• the e-book revolution, while metaphorically violent at times, has led to a fresh look at our raison d’etre: books, how they’re published, who reads them, what their value is;
• there is a new optimism about how we can harness the power of electronic publishing for good and not evil;
• Patti Smith won the National Book Award and pleaded with us not to abandon the book;
• more people talk to me about books they love, loathe, are reading, want to read than ever before;
• we’ve had numerous bestsellers this year, as well as huge sales of books that we hope will be bestsellers in a couple of years, as well as books that we didn’t sell for a lot of money but that were well published to lovely reviews;
• publishers are starting to roll out some ridiculous new boilerplates whereby they try to aggregate every right known or that will eventually be devised by the next Mark Zuckerberg (yes, we agents will fight them tooth and nail on every point because publishers need to find ways to survive and thrive that are not at the expense of authors and their rights, but it indicates to me that they’re not keeling over and dying and are actually putting up a fight to remain relevant);
• I get to meet and/or speak with talented, surprising, fascinating characters almost every day—a number of them clients and some clients to be—and have the opportunity to learn something from all of them (David Morrell told me, upon returning from his successful USO trip to Iraq, that the huge chandelier in Saddam’s main palace was made out of plastic!);
• after 21 years of doing the same thing, I’m still having fun.

Happy Turkey Day everyone!

Thanksgiving's here, I can smell it

by Stephanie

It’s Tuesday! Which means it’s almost Wednesday! Which means it’s almost time for one of my favorite holidays of the year! Needless to say, I’m a little excited for this work week to pass. So as I count the hours (seconds?) to Thursday, I wanted to pass along this great post from Rachelle Gardner’s blog, Rants & Ramblings, about the all-important holiday plan for all you writers out there.  With extra time off but more holiday-related obligations, budgeting out time for writing will be more important than ever. As we approach these next few days off, I’m sure many of you have some kind of goal mapped out for that work-in-progress, but if not, this post offers great tips. First of all, I appreciate Rachelle’s realistic expectations in budgeting time: “try to accurately assess about how much time you’ll have for your personal writing pursuits.  Then, divide that time in half.” She gets it! She also takes into account the possible obstacles that may impede writing, and the importance of anticipating how they could potentially affect those word counts.

So what are your writing plans for the holiday break? Are deadlines looming? Looking to finish that new novel? Or start one, perhaps?  Either way, now that I’m in holiday mode, I hope you, dear readers, have a restful and productive holiday!

Thanksgiving with the kids--where are the books?

by John

As Thanksgiving rolls around this week, I’m reminded of one of the more confounding paradoxes of my previous career as a children’s book editor: that despite the natural opportunity for kids’ books to tie into the holiday, I could never, ever get a Thanksgiving title to work.

After all, Thanksgiving seems like an easy sell. The story of the Pilgrims makes a perfect subject for picture books, as do the themes of thankfulness, family, and togetherness that Thanksgiving celebrates. You’d think, too, that parents would need a book for the holiday, not only to explain things to toddlers, but to keep them seated and quiet for five minutes! And from the Macy’s parade to Black Friday, Thanksgiving has always been about buying stuff—so why not books?

Yet, despite multiple attempts to publish books on Thanksgiving and the annual effort to market books for the holiday, I never saw a Thanksgiving book that sold really well. Instead, the best performers seemed to skirt the holiday and focus more on the general season, like Tomie dePaola’s Strega Nona’s Harvest or Richard Michelson’s and Mary Azarian’s Tuttle’s Red Barn.

So, if anyone has any ideas why these books don’t work, or better yet, how to make a Thanksgiving book a success, I’d love to know. Because I’d like to think that for the most American of holidays, there must be a successful way to share it through a book. Any thoughts?

A time to be thankful

by Jane

I know it might sound trite, but each year at Thanksgiving I consider all that I am thankful for. This year is no exception.

Of course, first and foremost I am thankful for my wonderful, supportive husband Steve, my two beautiful children Jessica and Zachary, and my incredible three-year-old granddaughter Elena. Without each of them, I wouldn’t have the energy to enjoy my career as much as I do. They really do complete me.

I am thankful for my father Oscar Dystel, a publishing legend who has just celebrated his ninety-eighth birthday and whom I talk with every day.

I am thankful for my incredible colleagues at DGLM: Miriam Goderich, Michael Bourret, Jim McCarthy, Stacey Glick, Jessica Papin, Lauren Abramo, John Rudolph, Stephanie DeVita and Rachel Stout. They are incredible people, industrious, smart, thoughtful, and a fabulous team.

Without our talented and prolific clients, we wouldn’t be here and I am thankful for each and every one of them every single day.

And of course, I am so thankful and appreciative of all of you who follow our blog and give us such great feedback throughout the year. Your advice is invaluable and your supportive comments so very appreciated.

I wish each and every one of you a delicious holiday and, if you have time, I’d love to know what you are thankful for.

A Crafty Thanksgiving

by Stacey

To keep it light before the holiday, I thought it would be fun to share a craft project using some of the many cans you're bound to be using for Thanksgiving (who doesn't love the jiggly cranberry sauce that retains its shape when removed from the can?). This one comes from my client and friend, Susan Beal. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Miriam's gratitude

by Miriam

It’s Wednesday before Thanksgiving and we’re busier than a trendy restaurant on Valentine’s Day. I keep wishing we could take a breather from the meetings and admin stuff so that we could catch up on our slush piles, our edit memos to our clients, our nice notes to authors whom we’re regretfully turning down, our blog browsing, etc. But, when I start whining, I am invariably told that I should be grateful that, in this poor economic climate, we’re busy and thriving. And, despite the fact that I will continue to whine, I agree wholeheartedly. So, today, I carry on Jane’s theme about gratefulness.

Like Jane, I’m grateful for the amazing staff we have here. These are people whom we’ve watched grow into their jobs and who have become like family to us. Like the championship Yankees of the ‘90s (you knew I had to get a Yankees reference in there), we are a great team. Sure, we bicker, lobby sarcasm at each other and, occasionally, call each other names (the kitchen melee when the breakfast order arrives is ugly), but we also support and give generously of our time to each other even when we’re drowning in piles of work. This is a group of smart, creative, and kind people who work very hard and who enjoy what they do.

I’m also grateful for our clients, who are the engine that drives this ship. With as varied and wide-ranging a client list, I’m always amazed at how many of these people we consider friends. Our clients allow us to be part of their lives as well as their creative process. They challenge us to be better--better communicators, better readers, better agents, better people--and they provide us with endlessly interesting, engaging ideas that make our jobs exhilarating. We are privileged to have the opportunity to serve our existing authors and excited at the prospect of forming new relationships with those we haven’t even met yet.

Finally, I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Jane Dystel lo these many years (I was 12 when I walked into her office for an interview). She has taught me a tremendous amount about business, but the most important lessons I’ve gained from her have had a much broader impact on my life. She has been immensely generous with her friendship, support, and encouragement even when she disagreed with whatever crazy scheme I was hatching. She’s the Joe Torre of our team.
So, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you have as much to be thankful for as we here at DGLM do.

What I'm thankful for

by Jane

It’s Thanksgiving and every year at this time especially, I think about what I am thankful for.

One of the main things I am thankful for is our team at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. They really are the best at what they do:

Miriam Goderich--Partner, Senior Vice President and Editorial Director: The foundation of our company, a great editorial and administrative mind with an awesome sense of humor. I am so thankful that she is my partner and very close friend.

Michael Bourret--Vice President: A tireless agent; an incredibly hard worker and a risk taker. Michael is setting up a California office of DGLM. I have such admiration for him and am rooting for his success.

Jim McCarthy: A brilliant editorial mind and a superb agent, Jim has incredibly good taste and a wonderful sense of humor. I am constantly astounded by Jim’s insights and so proud of his enormous growth over the years and his recent successes.

Stacey Glick--Vice President: A terrific agent with a growing list of practical non-fiction, Stacey has a very good nose and is incredibly persistent. I am constantly amazed at all that Stacey accomplishes in her increasingly busy life and thankful to have her as part of our team.

Jessica Papin: Jessica is a passionate and amazingly hard working agent who is building a very exciting client list; we are so lucky to have her back.

Lauren Abramo: Our Rights Director and in-house techie as well as an agent in her own right, Lauren is always on top of everything. With a small list of clients, which she is growing carefully, we are very lucky to have her.

Chasya Milgrom: Our Royalties Manager and newest agent, Chasya is building a list and growing beautifully with the agency. I am so thankful to have her with us and to watch her develop as an agent.

Rachel Oakley: My assistant and our newest staff member--I am thrilled to have her here and know she is going to be a huge and important member of our team.


Thank you all for your support, your tenaciousness, your good taste and your wisdom; you all add to my life and to DGLM in enormously important and meaningful ways.