“Laurie Abkemeier, a literary agent with DeFiore and Company, decided a couple years ago that the world needed a book about ugly Christmas sweaters…. 'I literally looked at every site related to ugly Christmas sweaters to see who would have the biggest platform for this book.'" —Just another day at the salt mines.
"Another agent said that when he asked Wiatt if he would help him with a deal, Wiatt responded by staring back at him, as he played with a giant, wooden clothespin given to him by screenwriter Joe Eszterhas (a former client) and saying, 'Eat it.' (According to four sources from William Morris, Wiatt was also known to use the word 'fag' as a means of fraternizing around the office. As in, 'How ya doin', fag?')" -Hollywood! Isn't it great? Well, look out, because Jim Wiatt, the former head of William Morris and the steward of its merger with Endeavor, who's been on the outs for a year, is [...]
It’s a fact of life for writers that at a certain point, beyond a personal blog, to reach a larger audience your work will need to be vetted or massaged or reshaped (or sometimes, rejected or violated) by an editor. In publishing houses, moreover, it’s generally the editor who serves as your advocate or at least liaison with the other departments (generally, production and sales/marketing); he or she is the person who not only introduces you to those who will eventually sell your book, but also has to make the case as to why they should care when they undoubtedly have many, many others vying for their attention. The [...]
There are a couple of things that William Morris Endeavor clients are hot to buy rights for! Like, someone there totally wants to write a screenplay about Allen Stanford, the alleged total financial crook, and they want to get his life rights. Or get his life rights through the recent Vanity Fair piece on him, if that's easier. And also there is interest in Devin Friedman's GQ article, "Will You Be My Black Friend?" Why do we know these useless bits of information? Because someone in the "story department" at WME will not stop emailing their j-school alumni list-serv whenever this person wants someone's email address. Oh honey, it's [...]
Let’s say that after a certain amount of time, probably more than a year (and possibly more than a few), you’ve finished your novel and want to find a publisher; or perhaps at the other extreme, five hours ago you started a high-traffic Tumblr, which people are telling you needs to be made into a printed book. Either way, chances are you’re going to need an agent. Agents are the gatekeepers of publishing, which may seem kind of pointless and inefficient until you understand that these days, agents not only negotiate contracts but often also do the lion’s share of the editorial heavy lifting (leaving actual “editors” more [...]
