(Was going to post this after seeing this movie in preview, but then decided that would be a bit of a spoiler. Lots of people probably wanted to see this movie as much as I had; no reason to kill their joy early. So I drafted it and set it aside til now, when it appears that Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief will be lucky to gross a hundred million dollars. Effectively, this film franchise is already over.)

The wretchedness of some bad movies is forgivable.

You know the ones I mean: There is an artistic vision of some kind behind the mess, a storyteller who got terribly lost. And even though the end result is painful to behold, it still feels like it came from someone who cared. About the wrong things, sure; or about a story no one in their right mind could be bothered to give a damn about, maybe—but whatever the case, you sense someone behind the shambles. The unwatchable hot mess that is Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus falls under this category. As does John Boorman’s Zardoz, and Boorman’s Exorcist II: The Heretic, and—well, a lot of Boorman. You get the picture.

And then there are movies made by witless mediocrities such as Chris Columbus. (more…)

An agent typically works with manuscripts in two different ways.

The first is when an author comes to me with a completed manuscript. If we decide to work together, we’ll spend time revising—focusing on character development, style, and storytelling. It is always exciting to help a writer best achieve his or her vision, and as many of my authors know, the revision process is one of my greatest joys.

The second is when an author comes to me with an idea. There is no manuscript—just the spark of something wonderful inside that curious (and thrilling!) thing known as the Author’s Brain. In that case, it is my job to help the author translate the idea onto the page, and then work with him or her to craft the arc of the story, develop the characters from the ground up, and prepare a proposal that allows an editor to see the same magical thing that I do.

I have been privileged to have many of both experiences since I began agenting. Today, though, I would like to talk about one of the latter experiences—a writer with an idea—that resulted in a fantastic book, Knightly Academy, that hits bookstore shelves today. The author, Violet Haberdasher, approached me with a concept she’d been thinking about for years, and we worked together to turn her dream into a reality. (more…)

As some of you know, I came to agenting through a bit of a side-hatch. I’m not a former editor. I didn’t complete UC Santa Barbara’s nine week literary agent training program. I wrote and tried to place my own material before moving to NYC to find a job in publishing. Once here, I applied for an internship at a literary agency, worked hard (and for free), and accepted a position once it was offered.

When I started as an agent, I made several lofty pledges to myself. Since I’d been on the receiving end of form rejections, I vowed to try and avoid them as much as possible. Because I, too, had waited for months to hear back from agents, I held my hand over my heart and said “Three weeks! I’ll respond in three weeks!” I promised I’d never become jaded because I was going to be an agent of the people, who would break the mold and be a hero and etc etc etc.

Folks, I’ve now realized that all those pledges are simple to say, and harder to do. (more…)

Writers generally hate being asked where they get their ideas. Neil Gaiman tackled the issue on his website (my favorite reply he used to give to the question is “From a little ideas shop in Bognor Regis”). In On Writing Stephen King quipped that he got his ideas from “a small, bloodthirsty elf who lives in a hole under my desk.” Of course, if you can’t afford trips to Bognor Regis and you feel the imprisonment of elves, however thirsty for blood they are,  to be inhumane, you’re likely forced to come up with more creative ways to speed the muse.

King (after the elf admission) recommended asking “what if” questions for inspiration. Other authors scour the news for ideas, and look for simple stories they can then adapt and personalize. Some writers look to prompts for inspiration. (more…)

Today Scholastic released the title and cover for Mockingjay, the final installment in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy. If you’re a fan of the series, you know why this title works. If you’re not, why are you reading this blog post and not the first two books? What’s wrong with you?

To help build anticipation, Scholastic won’t be printing advanced reader copies for Mockingjay. This makes perfect sense, of course, but it also just about kills me. When the ARC of the first book was first brought into the office, it changed hands between four of us in the span of ten days. When the ARC of Book II was released, it quickly became the most talked about YA title at last year’s Book Expo America conference. Eager fans lined up for hours to get their hands on a copy. Thinking myself too cool to wait in a line, I strolled in at around 11 in the morning to grab a copy to find I’d missed out. Suddenly less cool, I had to borrow a friend’s galley (that she had already borrowed) with the promise I’d return it within a week.  (more…)

Congrats to Josh Berk on his…

Unless you’re stuck under three tons of elephant, you should be on your way to the store to pick up your own copy of THE DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN.

From JoshBerkBooks.com:

THE DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN tells the hilarious story of Will Halpin, an overweight deaf teen who spends his first year at a mainstream high school looking for love, failing Algebra, unraveling the school’s social scene, trying to get invited to the greatest party ever … and, oh yeah, solving a murder.

 

Last night I had the place to myself and fired up the first two episodes in the latest season of Fox’s long-running, melodramatic, completely unrealistic counter-terrorism show 24. And I loved it.

I resisted the adventures of Jack Bauer for a while, despite the claims of friends and family that I’d eventually come to not only enjoy the show, but also yell at the screen in joy, anger, or pure, raw emotion. A friend said, “Trust me, if you watch it, you’ll find yourself screaming out Jack’s name.” He was completely correct.

24 is not art. Let’s get that straight right away. In my DVD collection, the seasons I own are hidden away behind things of more merit. And to be honest, it hasn’t been great since Day 5. But what can I say? I enjoy it.

We all have our guilty pleasures. (more…)

I’m an avid sports fan. How avid? Well, I used to contribute content for a fantasy football website. I shared partial season tickets for the Philadelphia Phillies before moving to NYC. I subscribe to ESPN the Magazine. I was even once a mediocre athlete, earning seven varsity letters during my high school career. There’s more, but I don’t want to terrify you.

Given the above revelations, it should come as no surprise that I’d love to find sports books for children. But not just any sports books for children: I want books that are fresh, intelligent, and about more than just the games on the field. (more…)

(Crow and Companion shopping during the holidays in high-tech Spend Bucks store packed with people.)

From next aisle over, Voice #1: Yo! What’s the name of that talking pig in that movie!

Voice #2: What movie? What pig? What are you talking about?

Voice #1: You know, that movie with the pig that talks—what’s it called? Babe. What was the name of the talking pig in that movie, Babe?

Over the holidays, the Crows took some time away from the fire of agenting to read things other than manuscripts and contracts. (I know, I know—who knew there was anything else? But it turns out the world of print is far bigger than just our little grimy corner of the bookstore. Will the wonders never cease!?) Some of us lost ourselves in the fat new Stephen King novel; others laughed their asses off over a Bill Bryson book (a helluva way to lose weight); still others turned for inspiration to that magazine of national record In Style to see just what it is we should be reading.

What books can the stars not put down? (more…)