Congratulations to Peter Cocking, Page Two’s design associate, who has won two 2014 Alcuin Awards for book design. He took first prize in the Reference category for The Dirty Apron Cookbook, and honourable mention in Pictorial for the art book Susan Point.
Last week a university professor asked us, “Will print books still exist in ten years?” It was a provocative question intended to spark discussion. But when we stated emphatically that yes, of course they will, he wasn’t convinced.
We recently gave our Page Two website a refresh and an update. It took months of planning and writing, and it required the expertise of some of our close collaborators.
We’ve had a few clients recently inquire about buying libel insurance to protect themselves in the event of a lawsuit when their books are published. We didn’t immediately know where to send them.
The world of ebook conversion is mysterious to most of us. It’s difficult to imagine what goes into designing a file that’s versatile enough for display on many different devices. The standard ebook file format is called ePub, and it’s designed to be responsive and to automatically adjust to the screen size of any e-reader, computer, smartphone or tablet.
Inevitably at some point, our self-publishing clients ask whether they should distribute their ebook exclusively through Kindle, or whether they should take a different approach. In most cases, we advise selling to a variety of ebook retailers.
Your substantive editor is the person who will review your manuscript to ensure the content and structure are clear. As we’ve explained in a previous post, substantive editing involves looking at big-picture things such as narrative and character development, pacing, consistency of voice, and chapter organization.
We’re delighted to report a new book deal we made through our association with Transatlantic Agency: Dr. Karen Lee’s FIT CITIES: HOW URBAN DESIGN CAN CONQUER THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC, a brilliant, eye-opening look at how we can act now to stop one of the world’s biggest health issues, based on the latest research and interviews with designers and health practitioners, as well as Lee’s own personal experiences in the field.
Many of our clients are not professional writers. They are entrepreneurs and leaders in the fields of technology, parenting, politics, business, sports, and science. They’re used to writing reports and other longish documents, but writing a non-fiction book for a general audience requires a different skill set.
When we became literary agents, an inquisitive child we know asked if we’d have to start wearing hats. It took us a while to realize why he was asking that question. In many of the cartoons he’d watched, agents have a specific role: they are secret agents — mysterious people wearing fedoras and trench coats, whose briefcases contain intelligence that can crack open big cases and change the world.
These days there’s an endless barrage of articles about why traditional publishers are horrible (they’re not.), and why self-publishing is a bad idea (it’s not).
We had the opportunity to look back on Page Two’s first year in an editorial for Publishing Perspectives. Upon reflection, we realized that the work we’ve done on even our most non-traditional projects has deep roots in industry traditions, and our most digitally-minded clients appreciate the benefits of time-tested publishing practices.
