1. Meet our new and improved e-zine for writers, Between The Lines
2. TED Launches new Screenplay Division
3. Changes to Literary Agent Matchmaking Program
4. Literary Agent Placements and Book Deals
5. Hot Off The Press: (Our Clients’ Books In Print)
6. Announcing our 2007 Fiction Writing contest: America's Next Top Novel
7. Changes to Editorial Services Menu
8. Suggestion Box 

Now under the editorial direction of Adriann Ranta, Between the Lines has made the move from an e-mail-based e-zine to an online repository of original articles, blogs, and interviews that explore writing craft and the state of publishing today. Subscribers will still receive all feature- length articles and interviews as we complete them and archives of all previous content will be available from the new Between the Lines home page, which you can check out by clicking here.

Highlights for this month include:

• What Editors (Really) Do, by TED founder Renni Browne, explores the editor's craft and offers her perspective on some common misconceptions about how editors work and what they really do.

• Our featured article, Book Advances, Royalty Checks, and Making a Living as a Writer, explores the elusive topic of book advances for first fiction. How agents and editors arrive at these enigmatic numbers, what you can do to get the highest advance, and actual advance amounts are among the topics explored in this ever-timely article. This is the first in an ongoing series on the economics of publishing, so we hope you'll check out the full series of interviews with literary agents, writers, and publishers on making a living as a writer.

• Interview with former William Morris Agency president Owen Laster. TED founder Renni Browne chats with literary agent Owen Laster shortly after his retirement from one of the world's most successful talent agencies and discusses his decision to leave publishing and shares his candid thoughts on the state of the industry today.

• Behind the Bestsellers is a new monthly compilation of three different bestseller lists with an analysis of possible trends, regional selling disparities, and the little debuts that could.

• First 50 is a weekly story-arc analysis of some of TED's favorite bestsellers. Here, we look closely at what these authors are doing well and not so well in the first fifty pages of their most celebrated works.

• Best of the Blogosphere features a daily, hand-picked blog post in an effort to tap into even more industry perspectives. This feature is an invaluable source of publishing know-how, from common errors in query letters to choosing your novel's cover art.

• The completion of the fiction genre and sub-genre glossary, a definitive guide of fiction genres from A to Z; pinpoints what exactly it is you're reading--or writing.

The Editorial Department is pleased to announce the launch of our new, Los Angeles-based screenplay division. Headed up by novelist and screenwriter John Robert Marlow, the new division offers a full range of writing, editing, and critique services for screenplays, treatments, and adaptations, as well as an online store for the best film-related books, software, and other writing tools. We look forward to providing screenwriters with the same high-quality feedback and industry-savvy advice that have kept our book division clients coming back for over 27 years.

More information is available by clicking here or calling (866) 360-6996. 

We're also pleased to announce that John Marlow has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. His screenplay Nano (based on his published novel of the same name) is one of ten scripts in the running for the 22nd annual $30,000 award, as chosen and presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. TED is rooting for that $30,000 to go to our own John Marlow! To read more about this tremendous honor, you'll find the press release here.

In response to the increasingly competitive acquisitions environment, in 2006 TED began a complete overhaul of its agent matchmaking program. We've been working for almost a year now on developing a more efficient and effective approach to introducing literary agents to our clients’ work and making the process itself as comfortable as possible for our clients, and this effort is really paying off. While we'll never be able to guarantee that we can place a manuscript with an interested agent, our submissions and referrals have never been better received. Our thanks go out to Karinya Funsett, whose diligent work in managing our agent matchmaking program has really made an impact.  

More information about the agent matchmaking program is available here. Meanwhile, we’re pleased to report the following news about some of TED's clients and their books. 

Scott Pratt with Phil Spitzer of the Philip G. Spitzer Literary Agency. Scott's character-driven first novel An Innocent Client has six pre-publication deals so far. New American Library is the American publisher in a very handsome two-book deal and plans to make it the lead title in their highly successful crime fiction line. In the meantime rights have already been sold in Japan,  Germany, and France—a five-figure deal in each country! And Scott has also accepted a modest advance that is nonetheless on the high side for Bulgaria.  More foreign sales are anticipated. As soon as the writers' strike ends, Scott is flying to LA to meet with two producers and a celebrated screenwriter to discuss development of a television series that would feature An Innocent Client's defense attorney, Joe Dillard. We'll you all up to date on the breaking news about this one. Scott was a defense attorney for years and is now a full-time writer still living in East Tennessee, where An Innocent Client is set. Publication of An Innocent Client is scheduled for Spring of 2008. 

Steven Knope, M.D., with Mollie Glick of the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency: Steve is a Tucson local whose book explores a revolutionary and increasingly popular movement in the health care industry that centers on a stronger doctor-patient relationship. Word recently reached us that Molly and Steve have accepted an offer from Praeger/Greenwood and that the hardcover release is scheduled for spring of 2008.

Steve's first book was a terrific self-published effort called The Mind and Body Connection. Larry Golding, former Editor in Chief of the American College of Sports Medicine's Health and Fitness Journal, listed the book as one of his top four 'gems' of books dealing with health and fitness. You can check out Steve's website by clicking here.

Stonewiser: Heart of Stone, by Dora Machado ~ Mermaid Press - Release Date: Summer, 2008 

Florida-based writer Dora Machado has signed with Mermaid Press for release of her debut romantic fantasy novel, Stonewiser. The story follows Sariah, a gifted but rebellious young stonewiser (one with the power to see stories in stones) as she fights for her homeland and the man she loves. Mermaid Press, formerly a nonfiction-only press, is excited to present Stonewiser as their premiere fiction offering. Please check back for updates as we approach the release date.

Love Happens, by Laura Fitzgerald with Stephanie Kip Rotsan of the Levine Greenberg Literary Agency ~ New American Library - Release Date: TBA (Probably summer of 2009)

Laura has accepted a two-book contract from NAL for the follow-ups to her hit debut novel, Veil of Roses, which was published by Bantam in 2006 and chosen as a Target Spring Club Pick in 2007. Laura is a Tucson local whose flair for smart, funny prose, deftly drawn characters, and witty dialogue makes her work an absolute pleasure to read. The success of her first novel is a welcome reminder that the market for first fiction of real quality is alive and well.  We invite you to visit Laura's website by clicking here and will post more information on the coming soon page of our website as it's available.

Gail Graham with Caroline Woods of the Sheree Bykofsky Literary Agency: Gail was the Grand Prize winner of The Editorial Department's 2006 Arizona Statewide Writers Contest. Her delightfully odd novel of magical realism was strong to begin with and improved dramatically as she worked with Renni Browne to help the book realize its full potential. Caroline was the first agent we approached with Lemondade, and we’re delighted by her enthusiasm for it. 

David W. (last name withheld at author’s request) with James Schiavone of  the Schiavone Literary Agency: David’s novel is a moving work of historical fiction that follows a young southern newspaper reporter as he unintentionally finds himself in the center of the civil rights struggle, witnessing key moments in American history.

Ranjini I. (last name withheld at author’s request) with Robert Astle of Robert Astle & Associates Literary Management: Ranjini’s novel is a moving family saga in which a boy from India grows up in a loving, noisy family he supports emotionally and financially, all the while longing to go to America. Robert Astle recently left Artists & Artisans Literary Agency to form his own agency, Robert Astle & Associates. 

Poison Pen is a debut novel by handwriting analyst turned fiction writer Sheila Lowe. Originally published in March of this year by Capitol Crimes Press, the book received a starred review in Publishers Weekly that helped her get the attention of Penguin's New American Library. Poison Pen will be available in mass market paperback next April, and her second novel, Written in Blood, is already under contract.

Sheila worked with Ross Browne on the manuscript in 2002. She had some kind words to share on her experience working with TED, and you can read them by clicking here.

China Star, Maurice Medland's follow-up to his national bestseller, Point of Honor is a classic adventure story in the bestselling tradition of Clive Cussler—and an international thriller on par with the best works of Dan Brown and Nelson DeMille. At the heart of this electrifying novel are a strong-willed senator's daughter and her reluctant rescuer, two people from very different worlds who become bound together in a desperate game of survival, pitted against deadly forces that must be stopped at any cost—even their lives.

Clive Cussler calls Maurice “one of the best adventure writers today” and China Star should leave no doubt as to why. More information is available on Maurice's website at www.mauricemedland.com. Meanwhile, congratulations go out to Maurice for reaching # 9 on Amazon.com's 'Hot New Release' list earlier this year.

Maurice was kind enough to share some thoughts about his experience working with The Editorial Department. Click here if you'd like to read more about what he has to say.

Nine Days in October, By Ron Terpening. In the fall of 1988, Richard Donovan, a professor of art history from Arizona, has come to Italy on sabbatical, bringing his two girls with him—Pam, eleven years old, and Claudia, just turned sixteen. One Friday evening, while Donovan and the girls are shopping in Rome, a gang of thieves led by Beppe Fiammetti, an ex-con and wannabe revolutionary, launches a violent attack on a nearby postal facility. Their goal? Eight million in U.S. dollars, funds put together in secret by the Italian government to ransom three hydro-geologists kidnapped in the Kurdistan desert.

Working with Feroni and Sandra Patrizi, a journalist for La Repubblica, Donovan learns that the heist is part of a much vaster conspiracy. At stake is the fate of the world’s major powers and—what matters most to Donovan—his daughter’s life.

The Tucson Weekly had some nice things to say about Nine Days In October, calling it the author's most successful effort so far. You can read their review from August 23rd by clicking here.  

In celebration of National Novel Writing Month, The Editorial Department is hosting a nationwide contest to find and help perfect the next great American novel. The grand prize winner will win a complete manuscript evaluation and line-editing package and have the opportunity to work directly with Renni Browne, who has edited hundreds of successfully published novels, co-authored the bestselling Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, and is one of publishing’s most experienced and respected fiction editors. 

More information is available at www.editorialdepartment.com or by clicking here.

Here's what the winner of our 2006 Arizona Statewide Writers Contest had to say about her experience of working with The Editorial Department:

"I entered The Editorial Department's 2006 Novel Contest because I desperately wanted feedback. To tell the truth, I wasn't really interested in winning, because with 50 years' experience as a writer (I sold my first story when I was 16) I thought I knew how to edit my own work.

Well, I won. And I can honestly say that working with Renni Browne on my novel Lemonade was one of the most exciting, rewarding and fulfilling creative experiences I've ever had. I learned so much. So many new techniques, so many new ways of seeing, and reading. They didn't have MFA programs in my day, but this was like having my own, private instructor. Thanks to Renni I now have a fantastic novel, thanks to The Editorial Department I now have a fantastic agent, and I soon hope to have a fantastic publisher.

Thank you, Renni! Thank you, The Editorial Department!"

~Gail Graham

In addition to the introduction of several new services you can read about below, we have also made some changes to our existing service menu. Our intent was to streamline our offerings across the board, make the distinctions between our services clearer, and to make it easier for our clients to find, learn about, and engage the services best suited to their needs.

Complete information is available here for fiction and here for nonfiction, and some highlights follow:

• Self-Editing Tutorial, by Renni Browne:  Renni will line-edit a generous sample of a manuscript coaching the author's literary style, explaining her editing, and in the process laying out principles by which the author can self-edit the rest of the work. [Click here for more information.]

• Reduced Rates on Copyediting and Proofreading:  Standard prices now range from $2-4 per page, depending on the scope and depth of editing required.  [Click here for more information.]

• $35 critique: After six and a half years years offering in-depth critiques of the first five pages at no charge, TED became so overwhelmed with submissions that we had to phase out our free critique program in the beginning of 2007. In its place is a nominally priced  paid critique that provides an in-depth review of the first ten pages of a full-length fiction or nonfiction manuscript. More details are available here.

Special Offer! We’re pleased to offer a 15% discount on our manuscript evaluation service to any novelists who had a free critique done between 2000 and 2007. Anyone interested in taking advantage of this offer should contact Ross Browne at (520) 546-9992 or by email at rsb@editorialdepartment.com.

• Manuscript Annotation: Hearty thanks go out to TED editor Peter Gelfan, who over the past year has helped develop and refine a new editorial service that is ideal for rereads of manuscripts we’ve already worked on and manuscripts at later stages of development. This has made the process of final manuscript tweaking much faster and more efficient, often resulting in a much lower total editing cost. It’s called our manuscript annotation service and it puts highly specific notes from our editors in the body of electronic manuscript text. This is generally most appropriate when any heavy lifting with regard to plot, organization, or structure has already been done and the writer is ready for smaller-scale suggestions on highly specific matters. The intent of manuscript annotation is to push the author of a good book into taking it over the finish line. [Click here for more information.]

• Query Consultation Service: While our full agent matchmaking program is open by invitation only to authors who have worked with TED to polish their manuscripts, our Query Consultation Service is available to anyone preparing to approach literary agents on their own.  Agent Matchmaking Program Director Karinya Funsett is available to read query letters or synopses and provide the authors with written feedback and suggestions for improvement. This is not a query-writing service but rather a way for writers to get professional feedback and advice on their submission material prior to sending it out to agents. [Click here for more information.]

Between the Lines was conceived to help our editors, clients, and web community better understand today’s publishing environment and hear directly from industry insiders on topics of interest to writers and publishing professionals. We want to hear what you think, what you'd like to see, and what your questions are. Feel free to recommend article topics or interview candidates--maybe even volunteer your own unique perspective! We also welcome your  publishing-related essays, interviews, and reviews. 

Contact Adriann Ranta here or call (520) 546-9992 with your questions, comments, or suggestions.